


Santa's Little Helper

by MagicGirlWrites



Category: Grey's Anatomy
Genre: Calzona, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-04
Updated: 2017-04-04
Packaged: 2018-10-14 20:39:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 27,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10543998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagicGirlWrites/pseuds/MagicGirlWrites
Summary: Callie and Arizona are broken up but what if all they need is a little push from an unlikely Santa.





	1. Chapter 1

**Hey all, this came in my head the other day and I had to get it out! This will be a relatively quick story, lasting 13 chapters. I will release one chapter every other day until Christmas Eve. The chapters won’t be real long and most will be relatively easy read. A little angst and a lot of romance. Hope you like it.**

   
  
---  
  
Santa's Little Helper 

Chpt 1/13

 

Arizona was trying to get to her next surgery and kept getting stopped by people in the hall. She was late enough already and had been stopped by two nurses, a tech and now Webber.

 

"Dr. Robbins I've signed you up for this years Secret Santa exchange you can pick up your name this afternoon," he told her with a smile.

 

"Oh you know Chief, I'm not sure if it's something I'm up for this year,"Arizona said stopping to talk to him but really just wanting to get to her surgery.

 

"Too bad, I've already assigned everyone a name and you are in there. This afternoon anytime after two is fine," he told her with a smile and walked on down the hall.

 

Arizona slumped her shoulders a little and breathed a deep sigh. Great. She had hoped to get out of this silly tradition of getting coffee mugs and tea for a week from a random co-worker, but now it looked like she was stuck. 

 

She took off down the hall and headed for her scrub room to get ready.

 

Callie was on the other side of the hospital talking to Maggie when she saw Dr. Webber approaching them.

 

"Oh, chief I've been trying to catch you all morning, can you leave me out of the secret Santa exchange this year? I just don't think I'm going to have time for it this year." She said and saw him shaking his head. "What?" She asked him.

 

"Sorry! Names are all done and you can pick yours up this afternoon after two," he said with a smile and walked on leaving her with her mouth open.

 

"Crap," she muttered and saw Maggie eye her.

 

"You don't like getting gifts?" Maggie asked her unsure why she didn't want to participate.

 

"No, I just didn't want to do it this year. Oh well,"she said with a sigh then looked at her friend. "I'll see you later." She said and took off for her office, she still had quite a bit of work to do today and really wanted to get it done before it became too late. Arizona had Sofia tonight but she was hoping to be able to see her before she went home with the blonde.

 

And then there was Penny. What were they these days? She didn't even know, they hadn't broken up, but they also weren't what they once were either. Things had definitely simmered down between them and had seemingly come to a screeching halt recently. Things had become very awkward between the two of them and they were definitely walking on egg shells around each other now.

 

Callie missed Penny and the person she had fallen for a few months ago, but now...there was so much weighing on them she didn't know what to do to make it all better again. They needed some time together, without the hospital and ex wives so they could just be together and remember what they liked so much about each other. But that wasn't going to happen anytime soon with their schedules and the impending holidays, they were lucky to have one evening a week to see each other. She was afraid this was them slipping away from each other, down a very long slope with no hope of return.

 

Arizona had been hanging out with Richard at the bar a couple times a week and so far it has been great. She was slowly starting to feel like Arizona Robbins again, the Arizona from years ago. The Arizona that was fearless, dated anyone she set her sights on and randomly walked up to strangers and kissed them in bathrooms. She was becoming that Arizona again and it felt wonderful. So many people commented they missed that Arizona and was just starting to realize SHE missed that Arizona. 

 

She was talking to women again, asking for phone numbers and some were even asking for hers. She had danced a few times, had been asked out once and had been bought countless drinks but had still remained weary of starting anything too new just yet. 

 

She saw how happy Callie was with Penny and she realized it was time for her to feel that way to.  She needed to start moving on, but she had to admit as much as she wanted to be happy for Callie and her Perfect Penny....it hurt to see her with that woman and see how happy she was. She talked about the woman like she had never been happy with anyone else. She was the best. The kindest. The sweetest. The. The. The. 

 

What about her! It made Arizona so incredibly sad to see Callie talk about Penny that way, not because she was jealous but because..had she not been those things for her? At all? Ever? They had certainly had their tough spots, but the way Callie talked about the redhead it seemed like everything they had had together meant nothing to her. Had Arizona made her _that_  miserable? Had she _never_ made the brunette happy? She thought had had some good times over the years, but now....the way she talked about Penny, it made her sad to think that maybe what they had together wasn't what she thought it was.

 

At two o'clock she found herself outside Webbers office with the rest of the crowd ready to get their secret Santa names. She glanced around and saw a pretty good crowd of people and then she saw Callie but didn't see Penny.

 

"Okay people, listen up, I have the names of all your secret Santas printed out and placed in an envelope with your name on the front. Please grab your name. But! This year we are doing things a little different. We are going to have twelve theme days, these gifts will start in Dec 2 and run until December 24. Every other day will be a different theme, please try to find something for your secret Santa that is appropriate for your person and fits under the theme. The first theme day is.....Sweets for the Sweet," have fun and don't forget it's a secret!" He said and walked off. People started walking up to his door and taking their own names off the door and walking away opening the envelope.

 

Arizona grabbed hers and walked down the hall the grab Sofia and head home.

 

At the same time Callie grabbed hers and headed back to her office.

 

Both women were opening their envelopes at the same time and both stopped at the same time when they looked in and read their names.

 

"Crap," they said in unison at different parts of the same building.

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

Hope you all liked the first chapter, it was to set up the following 12 chapters that are to come. Basically this is the 12 days of Christmas with the girls. Hope you enjoy it!

 

 

Santa's Little Helper 2/13

 

Sweets For My Sweet Day 1

 

Callie was sitting in her office with her head in her hands wondering what she had done in some other life to deserve this one. Where had she gone wrong, because it seemed like she just kept getting hit over and over. Drawing Arizona's name was just another example of this.

 

Because when Penny found out, well Callie knew that there would be words. It's not like Callie had any sort of control over the situation. She had even tried to get out of the stupid tradition, but no, it had been too late. And then, of all people to draw she got stuck with Arizona.

 

Penny had become more and more insecure about Arizona lately. Callie wasn't even sure why, the two didn't have a lot of interaction but for some reason Penny didn't want anything to do with the blonde. It had started briefly after "the dinner" at Meredith's house. Penny had refused to say much to Callie about it but she had heard little snippets from other people of things Arizona had said and she was pretty sure that was why Penny didn't want anything to do with her.

 

And Callie couldn't blame her. She knew it was hard on the intern for so many reasons and then on top of _alllll_ the things that were weighing in on the red head, to have to see Arizona on a daily basis just solidified the fact that Penny was not going to like the woman anytime soon.

 

So now Callie and Penny were barely an item anymore but on top of it all once she found out Callie had gotten the blondes name she was going to hear about it. She'd have to be very careful with the presents she picked out or it would really add fuel to the flame.

 

Callie could actually feel an ulcer starting to form in her stomach. So this morning she had stopped by Arizona's favorite donut shop and picked the blonde up a dozen of her absolute favorite donuts. And these weren't just any donuts. Glazed and old fashioned had nothing on these donuts. Most people didn't even know the place existed and if they did they would have no idea that Arizona loved them so much. And luckily they had her favorite that day. They sold an assortment of pink donuts that came in seven different shades of pink with different sprinkles and icings. 

 

Arizona loved them so much she denied herself the guilty pleasure of having them more than once or twice a year. She liked to save it for really special occasions which got Callie to thinking....when was the last time Arizona had treated herself to them. Had she driven down to the little store anytime lately to have a few of them? Callie used to show up with them on occasion, but if she knew the blonde like she knew she did, she probably hadn't had them in a long time.

 

So Callie drove, picked them up, handed them off to an intern and on top of the box wrote "sweets for my sweet" which felt weird because it seemed....intimate and wrong for a minute. But she wrote it, and a little extra, then handed it off and went about her day. She could do this.

 

Xxxxxxxxx

 

Meanwhile on the other side of the hospital Arizona found herself with an extra bounce in her step. Things couldn't be better for the blonde than what they currently were. At first she was upset she had drawn Callie's name but then as the evening progressed she came to realize this was actually a blessing in disguise.

 

This was actually a really good draw for her for several reasons, the big one was that this was to be seen as an opportunity. And one she couldn't throw away, one that she needed to take with gusto and make it hers. She had been going to the bar with Richard and it had been fun but she constantly found herself face-to-face with women that seemed interesting but once she started really talking to them she was constantly comparing them to her ex. Which at first she decided was a very bad thing. 

 

Richard had even caught on over time and mentioned that she needed to stop. And she tried, she really had, but over the course of the weeks they had been going out and she had been comparing one day Richard finally had had enough.

 

"Arizona, do you think it's wise to compare all these women to Callie? They aren't Callie and they will never be her."

 

And he was right. No matter what she did she wasn't ever going to find another Callie and that was when it occurred to her. She didn't want another Callie....she still wanted Callie!

 

There was little she could do with that information though other than fester because Callie was still with Perfect Penny and there wasn't anything Arizona could do about that.

 

But when she realized how lucky she had been for pulling Callie's name she couldn't stop grinning. This was the best fortune she had gotten in a long time. 

 

She was going to win her wife back with her twelve days of gifts. She would send her packages and gifts that were thoughtful, straight from her heart, and represented their previous love for each other. She could do this, and she would! She was going to give the brunette over the top gifts that represented their previous love in some way. By the end of this silly tradition she was going to have her wife back and she would know once and for all just how Arizona felt about her.

 

"Here Dr. Robbins,"an intern said handing her a box and she knew this was her first gift. It was wrapped in pretty pink paper with a couple of different pink ribbons and a pink bow. She walked back to her office and sat the box down on her desk and oppened it up.

 

She sat looking at the box of donuts. Not just any donuts. Her absolute favorite donuts in the whole wide world and there was only one person on this planet that knew she loved them. Calliope.

 

She sat looking at the donuts and then read the top of the box and read the note. 

"Sweets for my Sweet on day one. Hope you like 'em they sure look fun. 

Don't eat them all right away 

Or you're sure to be sick all day"

 

The grin that graced Arizona face spoke a thousand words as she thought to herself "could it be?"

Could they have actually drawn each other in this preposterous game.

 

Xxzxxx

 

Callie was still sitting in her office when a knock came at the door.

 

"Dr. Torres this is for you," an intern said and handed her a box.

 

Callie said thank you and sent the intern on his way. She sat and looked at the box for a minute. It was wrapped very pretty with beautiful paper and matching bows.

 

She opened the box slowly and she quickly caught her breath as she looked at it. It couldn't be.

 

It was a box of her absolute favorite chocolates from a little shop in Miami that her dad used to take her to occasionally when she was little. He would let her walk all around looking at the chocolates and pick out her favorites making her own private box of chocolates unlike any other.

 

There was of course only one other person in the world that knew that and knew the types she would pick out. All Callie had to do was lift the lid to see what was under it know for sure her answer. If she opened the box and saw her favorites then she would know the identity of the person that had pulled her name.

 

When she and Arizona had been married Arizona had called the chocolate shop a few times and had them recreate the box for her. But she didn't do it very often, not wanting to loose the impact of that box when she _did_ get it. It was something that was supposed to be very special and limited to extremely special occasions.

 

Callie opened the box and looked at the chocolates in it and felt a tear slide down her face. This was her box. Her very special, and favorite box of chocolates and she knew without a doubt who had sent this box.

 

Her phone pinged and the message said "Day 2. Relax Day"

 

She say back in her chair with a smile on her face and started thinking of what she would send the blonde

 

#calzona fanfiction #callie Torres #arizona Robbins #christmas fic

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

3 Santas little helper

Chapter 3/13 Relax Day

Callie stepped into the elevator to go home and heard someone yelling to hold it. She looked up and saw Arizona come through the doors and then watched them shut.

"Hey," Arizona said and took a spot in the back of the elevator. A smile graced her face as she watched Callie squirm a little, elevators had always been a thing for them. Arizona seemed to be full of good fortune these days, and this moment was just part of it all.

"Hey Arizona," Callie said glancing at the blonde then looked back at the doors hoping that the elevator could for once just move a little faster. She was supposed to be meeting Penny in the lobby for dinner, a rarity for them these days and the thought that she would be in the lobby, waiting on her and see her get off the elevator with her ex-wife, well she really didn't want any part of that. They had already argued once today so she wanted to avoid another fight.

Earlier in the day Penny had stopped by Callie's office to see if she wanted to have dinner, she actually had the night off and wanted to spend it with her Callie. They had been struggling with finding time together and when they were together Penny was exhausted and all she wanted to do was sleep while Callie wanted to go out to dinner and movie and then some quiet time together. But that was current happening and it was really starting to weigh on them both.

"Yeah, I'd really like that," Callie said with a smile, looking at her girlfriend. Where had they gone wrong lately? Maybe she needed to try harder to make this work, she really did like Penny and she wasn't ready to give up on her just yet.

"Dr. Torres?" She looked up and saw an intern delivering a very large basket from her secret Santa. Great.

"What's that?" Penny asked walking closer to her desk and looking at the beautiful basket that was now on her desk.

"I'm in the secret Santa group again this year and this is my gift today," Callie said a little too enthusiastically trying to play it up a little, but looking at the basket she knew they were going to talk about this. A quick glance told her the times in here were very intimate, but Penny didn't know that, but it wouldn't take her long to figure it out.

"Wow," Penny said looking at the basket and picking up a candle that was in it. "This looks really nice. Is there a spending limit on this?" She asked in a high pitched voice. 

"You know I'm not really sure," Callie said quietly looking at the basket. At a quick glance she recognized a few of the items as favorites of hers and Arizona's when they were together.

The candle that Penny was holding and smelling was Mediterranean Fig, one of their favorites and easily an $80 candle,and there were four of them in the basket. It was nothing for Callie to come home after a long day and find a dozen of them lit around the room and Arizona waiting on her with the massage oil that Penny was holding now and looking at. This oil was also one of their favorites and Arizona used to love to get Callie naked and massage her entire body. The ways she used to worship Callie's body made Callie glad to be alive, she had a way of making her feel insanely special all the time.

"This all looks really expensive. Do you know who has your name?" Penny asked pulling out some lavender bath salts that Arizona used to buy for her from a woman at the farmers market. They used to really love them, the lady also used to make a lavender body butter...yep there it was now in Penny's hand.

Callie spent a moment thinking about the long baths they used to take together, quietly spending time with each other, taking the time to catch up with each other after a long day, listening to their favorite playlists and just being present for each other, caressing each other's bodies and long, lazy kisses. She missed those times. She had tried countless times to recreate some of these times with Penny but so far it hasn't happened for them. 

"Callie?" Penny said pulling her out of her moment down memory lane.

"Sorry, no, I'm not sure yet," Callie said with a little smile still thinking about the items in the basket.

"Who did you get?" Penny asked and Callie looked at her, she knew her girlfriend was going to be upset. 

"Um, I got Arizona," Callie said and waited for what was coming.

"Arizona as in your ex wife, Arizona?"

"Yeah."

Penny sat down in the chair in front of Callie's desk and looked at her. She wondered what the redhead was going to say.

"What have you gotten her so far?"

"Yesterday was "sweets for the sweet" so I got her some donuts. She's always had a thing for donuts." 

Penny just watched her and waited to see what else she had gotten her ex wife as gifts lately. She wasn't giving her very much information which made her instinctively think something was up.

"I haven't given her a gift yet today. I actually need to go get something over lunch," Callie told her and watched as Penny squinted just a little and then got up.

"So tonight? Me? You? Dinner?" Penny asked and Callie nodded her head and got up to walk her out the door. Callie could tell that Penny was trying and she needed to do the same. 

"I'll meet you in the lobby," Callie told her with a smile, then shut her door and pressed her back to it and let out a large sigh when it was closed. Sitting on her desk was a very large basket full of her absolute favorite things and sitting just to the left of it, was an envelope containing Arizona's present. 

Why hadn't she told Penny what she had purchased for Arizona? She wasn't sure actually. She did still want to get Arizona a little something to stick with the envelope so she was actually going to go out at lunch and grab that, but the big gift was sitting in her desk.

She glanced at the basket, smiled and walked over to it. She sat down at her desk and started looking at all the items in it. She really had gone out of her way with getting all of Callie's favorite relaxing items. She pulled out item after item looking at each one as she went along. 

To be honest while these were some of her favorite items, they were actually their favorite things. The things they used to pamper each other with after a long day or breaking bones and saving babies. She took each and every item out of the basket and looked at each one, remembering the times they had together, the nights, the long, long nights they spent loving each other, massaging each other, giggling under the covers. When had things become so fucked up for them, because right now, Callie could only remember the good.

Xxxxxxxx

"What did you get your secret Santa?" Arizona asked April as they were eating lunch. April was having a hard time looking at Arizona and mumbled something.

"What?" Arizona asked unsure what April was trying to say.

"I said my person is Jackson."

"Are you serious!?" Arizona asked with a huge smile but April still didn't look at her.

"I asked Webber to take me out but he said he couldn't because he had already paired everyone so now I'm stuck doing this and of course I get him. I mean why?"

"You should use it to your advantage, that's what I'm doing," Arizona said and smiled while she took a bit off her carrot.

"What does that mean?" April asked looking up at her friend that had a huge smile on her face, bigger than she had seen in a very long time.

"It means I pulled Callie's name so I'm going to give her the best secret Santa gifts she's ever gotten. When I am done with these twelve days she is going to look at me and see Arizona Robbins again, not Arizona Robbins-ex-wife-with-one-leg-that-cheated-on-her. But the real Arizona. The one she fell in love with and used to make her laugh....smile....and love so hard she didn't want anything else in this world. When this is done, she will remember me."

"You think it will work?"

"I think it has to. It's all I have right now and I'd love to have another chance with her and I think this might be my best chance."

"I wonder if it would work for me? What did you get her today?"

"A giant basket of all our favorite relaxing items. Candles, bath salts, chocolates, the things we used to keep in the house when we needed a day off from everything."

"Yeah.." April said not impressed.

"What do you mean "yeah" I'm not talking about Bath and Body works stuff I mean specific items we used to go out of our way to buy for each other. These are items that mean something specifically to us. And only us," she said with a smile. 

"Aren't you afraid she's going to figure it out?"

"No! Because I want her to! Her figuring out is the whole point, I want her to know its me so when she pulls out that massage oil she will look at it and remember the time.."

"Ahhhh! Nope, don't need the details, but thanks! I don't need to know that much about lesbians, thanks."

Arizona looked up and an intern was standing in front of their table.

"Here Dr Robbins," she said and handed her an envelope and a small box.

Arizona opened the box and smiled from ear to ear and felt a few tears in her eyes.

"What is it?"

"It's already working," she said laughing and looked up at her friend that wouldn't understand it. She then tore open the envelope and smiled. "And a day at the spa for me and Sofia! She's been begging for this, a whole day with just me. I never have a whole day for just us, but this is perfect." She said and looked back in the box at what was inside and smiled as hard as she ever had.

"How do you know it's working?"

"Trust me...I just know....pound cake?" She said with a huge smile offering her friend a bite of the cake that was in the box. Then read the top of the box

A whole day with your favorite baby   
Pamper yourself and the little lady  
Manis and pedis are your assignment   
Because uninterrupted time is priceless 

Xxxxxxxx

Callie was standing in that elevator willing it to move faster, to get out of there as soon as she could. She wanted to get to the lobby before Penny and at this rate it wander going to happen.

"How've you been?" Arizona asked and Callie turned and looked at her ex wife. She was wearing a knitted red scarf and Callie wondered if her mom had made it for her. Callie loved red on Arizona, it made her think of the spunky, kinky, beautiful woman that kissed her in that bar bathroom that night. The woman she had fallen in love with. The woman that knew how to take her breath away with a single look. Still.

"Callie?"

"Sorry. Um, I'm good, Sofia brought home a set of pajamas that I think belong at your house, I'll send them back," she said then the doors open and she bolted. 

Some people would have seen this as a setback, but not Arizona. She was standing there with a huge smile on her face. 

Her plan was working. Her phone buzzed and she looked down at it.  
Day 3: holiday colors.

A huge smile adorned her face because we already knew what she was going to do for this one.


	4. Chapter 4

4/13 Holiday Colors

People were starting to notice just how perky Arizona was suddenly. The attending that had once been known as the "dark one that lost her leg" was suddenly grinning from ear-to-ear and humming when she wasn't talking. It was the humming that most people noticed first. Bailey wouldn't stop staring at her when she was at the nurses station as she hummed "White Christmas" and signed off on charts. Arizona could feel the woman staring at her and after some time decided to acknowledge her.

"Yes?" Arizona finally stopped and looked at Bailey.

"You humming."

"What?" Arizona asked because she actually didn't realize she had been doing it. She was in an amazing mood and that was all she knew.

"Humming. You are standing at this station and you are humming. What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing is wrong, everything is great actually!" She said giving the Chief her very best smile.

"Braids."

"What?"

"Your hair. It's in braids."

"Oh, yeah I did Sofia's this morning then did mine too. She likes when we are "twinkies", as she says."

Bailey just stood and stared at the attending not talking to her but giving her the very best glare she had.

"Twinkies?" Bailey deadpanned her and Arizona just kept smiling at her.

"Yep! You know, like we are the same. Twinkies."

"I know what it means Robbins.....are you on drugs? Because if you are on drugs, I'll find out."

"Oh...no...no drugs. Why?"Arizona asked scowling a little at the woman standing in front of her, questioning her attitude.

"Because you humming and smilin' and you talking about twinkies. So you must be on drugs or something. So what is it?"

"I'm just...happy," she said and flashed her best smile. 

"Mhmmm...happy....if I find out its drugs I will make it my personal goal to make sure you never work again."

"Okay! See ya," Arizona said and took off down the hall leaving the very stunned chief. 

It had been years since she had seen Arizona look like that...well before the plane crash and the loss of her leg. What could be making the woman act like a damn fool? She was going to find out for sure.

Xxxxxx

Callie had closed herself up in her office and locked the door as soon as she walked in the building that morning. She didn't want to see anyone or talk to anyone. She had heard countless knocks on her door all morning but she chose to ignore them all.

Word was bound to get out soon and when it did...well then the knocks would really intensify and her phone would start. The calls. The texts. The emails.

Are you okay? I heard you broke up with Penny. Can I do anything? You can do better than her. 

She could already hear it now. She needed to get away. To a beach. That was what she needed.

She opened up her browser and started searching for warm places that she could visit. Spain was the first to come up. Of course. Knock a girl while she is down why don't ya.

Callie let out a sigh and sat back in her chair and let her head hang back. There was a knock on her door but she just ignored it and sat there, she had no intention of answering that door today. She had no scheduled surgeries and unless there was an emergency, she had blocked herself off for paperwork today and that was all she was doing.

"Callie! It's Meredith!" She heard from the other side of the door with some sharp knocks on it.

Oh yeah, because that's who she wanted to talk to right now. No thanks. She just stayed there, in her spot, not moving. 

"I'm not leaving until you open the door, I'll camp out here all day if I have to, I know you're in there."

Nope. That wasn't going to do it either. What did she care if Meredith sat outside her office all day. That wouldn't bother her one bit.

"Come on Cal, I heard about you and Penny and I just wanted to see if you were okay."

Still not doing it. 

"Hey," she heard and it caused her to sit up. "Is she in there?" It was Arizona and she must be talking to Meredith on the other side of the door.

"I think so but she is being stubborn and won't answer the door."

"Maybe she isn't there. Did she come in?" Arizona asked her and knocked on the door.

"I heard he did. I haven't seen her though. Did she have Sofia today?"

"No, I had her last night. Is what I heard true? Did she and Penny break up?"

"That's the rumor."

God, why couldn't they just go away. The last thing she wanted was to see anyone and now she had the two of them outside her office, talking about her and penny.

"What have you heard?" Arizona asked and Callie wanted to yell at them to go away but that would mean they would know she was in there and ahe would have to talk to them. 

"Just that she and Penny ended things last night. What did you hear?"

"The same. I think I'll go look for her somewhere else. Maybe she went to see Sofia, she normally does on the mornings I bring her in."

Callie sat up a little and wondered if Meredith left too.

"It's just me now....come on. Open up," she heard Meredith say and she let her head fall back again.

Ten minutes went by and finally Callie gave in.

"What?" She asked flinging the door open.

"I just wanted to check on you. Are you okay?" Meredith asked.

"No. But it doesn't matter," Callie said blocking her door not letting her come in.

"Let's talk," Meredith said brushing by Callie and walking into her office. Great.

"Meredith, if you are going to do this whole "I told you so" thing I'm really not in the mood for it. Can we save it for another day?"

"Callie, I would never do that. I just want to know how you are,"she said and sat down at the chair by her desk.

"I'm fine, I really have a lot of work to do and I don't want to talk about Penny, okay?"Callie said holding open the door but the other woman didn't budge, she wasn't going anywhere.

Callie sighed, closed the door and walked back over to her desk and sat down. She wasn't in the mood to talk about this just yet because she wasn't sure herself what she was feeling or what was happening. She and Penny had broken up, she was sad about that....but not as sad as she should be and she was feeling really guilty about that.

"You want to talk about it?"

"I just told you I didn't," Callie said and closed he eyes. "I really just want to be alone right now Arizona."

"Meredith."

"What?" Callie asked sitting up a little.

"Meredith. You said Arizona, but I'm Meredith. Are you feeling alright?"

"Seriously I'm fine. I just want to be alone so I can wallow in my self pity for now."

"Torres!" She heard a knock and saw Bailey walk in. Christ. This was all she needed.

"Chief," Callie said and watched the woman walk in. 

"What's this I hear about you locked up in this office for the day? We have trauma coming out of the woodwork down stairs if you are going to sit here and pout about your girlfriend breaking up with you the least you can do is make yourself useful."

"Do you really need me?" Callie asked barely audible. What had happened to a day of paperwork? She should have just called in sick.

"Yes, you are needed! Now go!" Bailey said and Callie let out a huge sigh and cringed at the thought of having to face everyone today. Perfect.

"Sorry Cal," Meredith said and stood up with her to walk out.

Xxxxxxx

Arizona was on the other side of the hospital beaming, she had heard that Callie and Penny had broke up and she wanted to feel bad for her ex because she knew that Callie would be hurting but at the same time this was fantastic news for her. It would make her plan that much more obtainable. She certainly didn't want Callie to be upset, but at the same time this was good news for her. 

"Dr Robbins, I jut wanted to let you know that Dr. Torres is in the trauma center now," an intern said entering her office. 

"Oh! Perfect! Thanks," she said and took off out of the room to make her plan work. She had been planning this surprise for Callie for two days and it had used up every bit of the two days. This one was sort of over the top and could easily backfire on her, but she felt like it was perfect.

She grabbed her bags and an intern and took off down the hallway to make this happen.

Xxxxxxx

"So do you want to talk about it?" Meredith asked and Callie just ignored her. To be honest Callie wasn't all that impressed with the other woman these days and now that she was broken up with Penny to have her immediately in her face pretending to be her friend suddenly didn't impress the brunette at all. She just continued walking down the hall headed towards the pit to get to work. Maybe if she totally threw herself into work it would help her forget her personal life for the time being.

"I know things have been tough between us lately...." Meredith said and that caused Callie to stop.

"Tough? You think things have been tough? No one will talk to me, all my friends hate me because I'm the one that was dating Penny. Never mind the fact that I didn't know who she was but still everyone hated me. They said I chose her over you. But you know what? That's bullshit. She was my girlfriend! But now! Now you want to swoop in and make things better? Well guess what? It's too late. Leave me alone Meredith," Callie said and walked off leaving the stunned blonde behind.

Callie had a long day ahead of her and she still needed to get her secret Santa gift to Arizona. She hadn't gone all crazy with this one as she had been busy breaking up with her girlfriend last night and she just didn't have it in her to care at the moment. 

It was sitting in her office and she'd have an intern deliver it later. She just didn't have it in her right now to deliver it or even have it delivered.

Xxxxxx

Arizona found herself sitting in the cafeteria waiting on April to show up when she saw her ex wife enter. She looked tired and beat down. Sad. She forgot how much she hated sad Callie. Arizona had been chipper all morning because Callie and Penny had broken up and it hadn't even occurred to her what Callie would look like or how she would feel after the breakup. Of course she was going to be upset, they had been dating for awhile so of course the woman was going to feel the loss of her girlfriend. 

Arizona was sitting there trying to decide if she should approach the brunette when she saw Penny walking towards her. Callie rolled her eyes and she could tell Penny was trying to get her to listen but Callie was having no part of it. Penny was holding Callie's arm but Callie pulled away and left the cafeteria with Penny trailing behind.

Arizona had heard right away that morning the two had broken up, it never occurred to her that they weren't actually finished though. She just assumed broken up meant "no more" but by from the looks of what she had just seen, it didn't look like they were over. Her once chipper mood had diminished rather quickly after the scene she had just witnessed. 

Xxxxxx

"Penny, we talked about this last night. I don't have the energy to put into this relationship anymore. You aren't happy, I'm not happy, we decided we were done. I don't understand what you want."

"I don't think I want to be done Callie. I don't think I'm ready to be over us."

"Penny.....I don't know what to do or say. We have been drifting apart for the last few weeks, neither of us has put the effort into the relationship because we both realized a long time ago, it wasn't going anywhere."

"I know...I know....it's just that, I really like you."

"I really like you too Penny, but I just don't think this is something that either of us wants to pursue anymore. Do you?"

"I think if things were different, if we were different and in a different place in our lives...maybe?"

"Yeah...I agree, but we aren't. This is where we are and this is what is happening. I've wasted a lot of my adult life pursuing relationships that just weren't meant to be and I really don't want to do it anymore," Callie told her and Penny reached in and the two hugged each other. 

"Thanks for being so great Callie." Penny told her while they held onto each other. 

"You too, you too," Callie said and pulled back and looked at the red head for a minute then gave her a peck on the cheek, pulled away and walked down the hall.

Neither had any idea that they had an audience the whole time. A certain blonde had been watching from a distance and saw the intimate moment they had at the end and that seemed to deflate Arizona. The cloud she had been floating on had disappeared and she was left standing in that hallway.

Callie made it to her office and when she got it it, she stopped. On her door was hanging a wreath. And not just any wreath but the wreath that had hung on the door of the apartment she shared with Arizona years ago when they first moved in together. Her hand went up to it and she touched it and thought about how they had gone shopping for this wreath together. They had actually argued about it because it had a bird in it and Callie thought it was ridiculous but Arizona thought it was cute and had wanted it. They had stood in the aisle of the store and argued about that wreath for twenty minutes before Arizona leaned in and whispered exactly what she would do for the brunette later if they could get the wreath with the bird.

She smiled to herself, and then walked into her office and did a double take at what she saw. It was an exact replica of their first Christmas together in their apartment. The exact tree, with blue and silver ornaments hanging all over it and on top the angel that they had bought together and hung on the tree. Their stockings were hung on her desk, and there was mistletoe hanging on the doorframe. Exactly like they had hanging years ago. Arizona would try to catch Callie under that mistletoe every morning on their way to work, it became a game between the two of them after while. 

Callie sat down in her chair and closed her eyes thinking of that Christmas they had spent together. On Christmas Eve they had made a makeshift bed under the tree and slept there that night, the lights twinkling above them as they slowly kissed and made love all night. When Callie had woken up the next morning she knew how much she loved the woman she just hadn't realized how much she needed the woman. She vowed to never let her go.

And yet, she had. She had let things get out of control and she had allowed the woman to go. Pushed her actually saying that it was for the better of the two of them. Was that really it? Or was she just so tired of being defeated? She really couldn't say.

But sitting here, in her office looking at this beautiful display she knew that she wasn't actually over the woman like she thought. She was so confused with the emotions of breaking up with Penny and now this flood of memories, she knew that she needed a good break or she was going to lose it.

Xxxxxxx

Arizona was sitting in her office trying to raise her spirits when an intern walked in carrying a box and handing it to her. Arizona thanked the intern and sent her on her way.

Arizona placed the box in front of her and slumped back in her chair. She was trying not to feel defeated at the moment even though she kind of did. She wanted to hope that things weren't what they had seemed between the two women but she just wasn't sure.

She pulled herself up to the desk and looked at the box. She opened it and looked inside to reveal a beautiful red hat and mittens.

You look beautiful in red  
I've always said  
the scarf seemed lonely  
I thought it could use some company

Arizona pulled out the hat and mittens and put them up to her face. They were the softest she had ever felt and she just held them to her nose for a little bit because she could just barely smell Callie on them. And for a brief moment she pretended those were Callie's soft hands holding her instead of the gloves.

Her phone pinged and she looked down Day 4: multimedia day.


	5. Chapter 5

5/13 Media Day

Arizona found herself sitting in her office wondering where Callie had disappeared. She hadn't seen her in two days, ever since she had broken into her office, okay she didn't actually break into the office, she had a key, a key left over from when they were married and used to need to get in each other's offices, but that was beside the point. She had broken into her office and made an exact replica of their first Christmas together and hadn't seen the brunette since.

It made her hands sweat a little in nervousness because maybe Callie hadn't appreciated what she had done. Was it too far? A little creepy? She wasn't sure to begin with and now that she hadn't seen the woman since she had done it she really wondered what that meant. 

So now she was sitting in her office, contemplating her next present and wondering if it was okay. She felt like it was but now she was going to second-guess everything. Even something small she was going to wonder if it was okay.

The envelope on her desk had Callie's name printed on it and it was ready to be delivered, she had even called in an intern, two different times, then changed her mind and sent them away. She was going to have to give the woman something she just wasn't sure if she should dial things back a little. She could always use this gift for herself and send something else to Callie....but she wasn't sure.

The last she had seen the brunette she was hugging her girlfriend? Ex girlfriend? Outside the cafeteria, and she didn't know what that had all been about. For a hospital that prided itself in gossip, everyone had been tight lipped about the couple. No one seemed to know if they were still an item or if they had officially called it quits. She had of course heard they broke up but then she saw them hugging and after that, she hadn't heard anything. 

At the beginning of this little gift exchange she thought it was all going to be easy, she would just swoop in, give Callie a bunch of meaningful gifts that would win her back, but now she realized she had gone about this all wrong. 

She needed to be mindful of Callie's heart in this, as well as her own. She was setting the two of them up for a huge disappointment if this didn't work out like she thought it would. There was no doubt she wanted Callie back, but she needed to know that it would work out. She didn't think that either of them could withstand another loss in the love department if this failed. It had to work. So she needed to make sure that what she was doing, she did it right. She couldn't rush it, make it happen. It had to happen because it was meant to happen. She needed Callie to want to be with her again, as she was, not hoping to recreate what they once had, but was now gone. She needed Callie to see her as she was now. Not how she used to be. 

She was discovering this might be harder than she had originally thought it was going to be. She had to do this the right way. 

So this was how she found herself after hours of thinking and contemplating the past few days. 

"Robbins!" She looked up and saw Chief Webber standing in her door.

"Hi Chief," she said and sat back in her chair a little, looking up at him.

"We still on for tonight? I hear those poppers calling my name!" He said a little too giddily. She was amazed that he still wanted to go out with her a few times a week and help her try to find dates. He was getting nothing out of this arrangement, other than free jalapeño poppers and some trivia, but beyond that she was surprised the man was willing to go with her.

"Ummm, sure chief. I have to deliver my secret Santa gift, say goodnight to Sofia and I'll be ready. Meet you in the lobby in an hour?"

"Oh! Great, umm so how's the secret Santa going for you?" he asked her and something glinted in his eyes. She stopped and looked at him, then shook her head, grabbed the envelope with the gift in it and left her office. 

Callie had taken a few days off from work to clear her head. She needed to set things straight in her mind and the thought of working and doing that didn't set well with her. But tonight was the beginning of her time with Sofia so she had to run into the hospital to pick up the little girl as well as drop off her gift. 

She needed a little time to clear her head about a few things and Penny wasn't the only thing. She had been struggling with the breakup but mostly because overall, she wasn't that upset about it. That was what she was trying to wrap her head around. She should be more upset than she was, but she was okay with the breakup. It was inevitable, them calling it quits, but it bothered her that she was so easy with it. 

She was easy with it...because of a certain blonde that she recently couldn't get out of her head. And not really just recently, Arizona was often on her mind, it's just that recently she found the blonde to be on her mind a lot more. And in ways she hadn't been in a long time. She found that the blonde was not just on her mind...but she had invaded her dreams...and desires lately. It had been a lonnnng time since the blonde had been on her mind like that. And as much as she knew it was wrong for her to be thinking of the blonde that way, that was how she knew it was certainly time to call it quits with her girl friend. Now ex girlfriend.

She had spent the last two days thinking of what it was she wanted in life, what was she doing? Was this just some sort of a delusional fantasy of hers that Arizona might be interested in her again? 

No. No. That wasn't a possibility because the gifts Arizona had been giving her just screamed the words "I want to try again." No way do you recreate your first Christmas together without the intentions of wanting to try again not being there. No. She knew what the blonde was up to, but it was up to her to decipher what they were going to do. 

What was Callie going to do? Why would they begin to think they could give it a try again. Had they changed? Grown up? She seemed to think they had. It felt like they had grown. They certainly needed that time apart from each other to heal.....but had it been enough time. Was Arizona really up for it? Callie had a way of making Arizona miserable. Bringing out the absolute worst in her, and that was what she hated the most, because she had loved her so much, she hated the idea that she single handedly made the blonde unhappy. Failure seemed to follow Callie at an unhealthy rate, and always had, but when she saw that it was affecting the blonde and her ability to heal properly, that was when she had to end things. Make a clean break for both their sakes.

But now....she wasn't sure. She had seen the blonde...differently. She looked, happy and healthy, like the Arizona she had fallen in love with years ago. She was smiling again and had that goofy little lopsided grin on her face when she was up to something. Callie had fallen deeply in love with that grin years ago. When she was being spunky or fun she would flash that little grin and the world would stop for her.

Callie had found herself looking for the blonde in places. The cafeteria, the lounge, she used to enter a room and scan it quickly for the blonde but over the past two years she stopped. Until recently she found herself doing it again. She would enter a room and scan quickly for that blonde head of hair.

She had been silently suffering the last few weeks while still with Penny because had been doing it, even though she was with Penny. She knew it was wrong of her, to pine over some one else and still be with Penny. She wasn't aware at the beginning she was doing it, it just started and that was when she knew she needed to end it with Penny. Callie Torres was a lot of things, but a cheater wasn't one of them. 

When she felt her and Penny drifting apart she knew it was time. She hated to give up on yet another relationship but she knew it was the right thing. Penny had even questioned if she was having feeling for someone else and Callie admitted that she was, but that nothing had happened and she wasn't ready to talk about it just yet.

Admitting something like this was probably the hardest thing for her to do. Admitting it out loud made it real and meant she needed to do something about it. It also meant there was a really good chance she was going to get hurt again and she didn't think she had it in her to have her heart shattered again by the blonde.

She walked in the hospital with a shopping bag in her hand that contained the most recent gift for the blonde. She'd find an intern to deliver it, and then go pick up Sofia from the daycare.

"Dr. Torres," she heard and turned to see the chief standing in the lobby.

"Hi chief." She told him warmly and gave him her best smile. "How are you?"

"I'm good, good. Waiting on Robbins actually," he told her rolling on his toes while he talked and looking for the blonde.

"Oh?"

"Yeah she and I have been going to trivia night at Pasha's a few times a week."

"Pashas's? As in...?" She started and dropped her voice. She had heard the blonde had been going out, and that she had been using the chief as her wingman...but she didn't realize she was still doing. "Hey chief, this is Arizona's secret Santa gift, would you mind giving it to her?" She asked, handed him the bag and took off down the hall. She knew it was ridiculous to think the blonde had been interested in her again. 

Arizona was running late and came flying out of the elevator in time to see Callie hand the gift to Webber and take off down the hall. She knew that walk. That was a walk of determination and one that said the brunette was upset.

"Hey chief, was that Callie?" She asked even though she knew it was. 

"Yeah, I mentioned we were going to Pasha's and she handed me this and took off."

"Oh no! Chief! You weren't supposed to tell her we were going there! Don't you know anything! Now she thinks I'm going there to meet women. Great." She said and huffed and started walking towards the door leaving a smiling Chief who knew exactly what he had done.

Callie stopped by the nursery to grab Sofia and saw her beautiful daughter standing at the door waiting on her. Like always. She loved her mama's and knew when to expect them and couldn't wait for the door to open and see them walk in. Today she was holding an envelope in her hand though.

"Whatcha got there baby girl?" She asked swinging her up into her arms and smothering her with kisses. 

"Santa!" She said enthusiastically and handed the envelope to her mom. Callie knew this must be her next gift from Arizona, she took it from the little girls hands and told her to go get her things together. 

Callie sat down in a chair and looked at the envelope in her hand and opened it up. She pulled out two tickets and looked at them.

The Moscow Ballet was in town and Callie had wanted to go but had forgotten to order tickets and had kicked herself for weeks. She and Arizona had seen them years ago, before Sofia was born and it had been a wonderful evening. Callie loved the ballet, had grown up dancing and found her heart still belonged in the dance floor.

There is nothing in this world that Callie wanted or needed, except maybe these tickets. She had really wanted to see them as they only came along about every five years or so and she knew she was really missing out on an opportunity to see them again this year. She couldn't believe the blonde had gotten these tickets for her. 

Arizona and the chief sat down at the bar and Arizona immediately hung her head a little. She was disappointed that Callie knew she was going to the bar tonight. She really didn't want to go, was only going because the chief seemed so into it and she didn't have the heart to tell him no. Plus she didn't have any plans tonight, she was going home to an empty house and figured why not go out for a glass of wine. It hadn't occurred to her that it was going to backfire. 

"Robbins, you need to calm down. Why don't you open your gift," he said handing her the bag that Callie had given him. 

"I jut don't know what I'm doing anymore," she admitted and looked at the man in front of her.

"Robbins, I did a lot of things wrong in my life, I did a lot of things right, but there was a lot wrong too. I have regret, we all do, but my biggest regret was not trying harder with my wife. I kept myself busy with work and didn't give her the attention she needed. She's gone now and all I can think is, I wish I would have worked less. When you get to my age you don't look back and think about that surgery you missed out on it the big case, you look back and think, I wish I would have worked less. I should have spent more time with her, had more dinners, given her those kids she wanted, vacations, holidays....I missed it all. And for what? So I could drink myself out of a job and lose...everything. Don't look back in thirty years and regret what you didn't do. Know what's important in your life. Grab it. Hold it close and don't let it go, because sometimes it's gone before you wanted it to be gone and you can't get it back. Don't let her get away," he told her and set the box that was in the bag in front of her.

Arizona sat there and looked at the box, it was a pretty good sized box and she couldn't wait to dig in. She grabbed the bow and pulled it off then carefully unwrapped the paper and pulled it off. 

There was a slip of paper on the top and she pulled it out and read the poem that she knew was wishing for her.

These always been your favorite  
There has never been a doubt  
So when you’ve got a late night  
Pop one in, these never let you pout

Arizona was really curious now and ripped open the box and saw before her, every single one of her favorite Disney movies. She was constantly bringing them into the hospital for the kids to watch and then losing them so she felt like she kept the Disney movie company in business just with her buying them all the time. She looked at the box and smiled so big, she loved these movies and everything they represented. 

"The next day is Bling day." Webber said with a smile on his face noticing how happy the woman looked. “Do it big.’


	6. Chapter 6

Bling Day 6/13

Arizona listened to Webber's words and took them to heart. She needed to do this big, really make a statement and tell Callie what she was feeling when she gave her the next gift.

She had furiously been searching everywhere for the perfect gift. She had looked at every store she could think of as well as online at certain shops but still hadn't found that gift. The one with the "wow" factor. The one that was going to really knock Callie off her feet and say "Callie, let's do this again."

She really felt that up until now she had been pulling out all the stops, but she needed to go over the top with their gift. Really let her know what she was trying to tell her.

"What's wrong?" April asked sitting down at the table with her friend with a huff.

"Nothing, what's wrong with you?" Arizona asked noticing the woman and her crabby body language.

"It's Jackson. I keep sending him these gifts, like you said, that will remind him of us, but he won't even look at me."

Arizona was listening, she really was but what she was actually giving more of her attention was the brunette that just walked in the doors. She watched Callie scan the room and then lock eyes with her. Arizona willed herself not to let those eyes go, she was going to hold onto that gaze as long as she could. She was trying to tell Callie everything in that brief moment, but was she understanding her?

The eye lock didn't last more than three seconds, but for the two of them it seemed to last for eternity. Or Arizona wanted it to anyway.

Finally Callie turned away, grabbed a tray and walked through the line while Arizona watched her, wondering if Callie had understood what Arizona was trying to tell her. Did she get it? Was she understanding these gifts and the looks?

"Arizona?" April begged and Arizona glanced back at her friend and gave her a look of sympathy. Oops. She should had been paying attention to her friend and instead she had completely bailed on her in that moment.

"Sorry, you were saying Jackson isn't noticing you after the gifts you are giving him?"

"No not at all.....is it working for you and Callie?"

"I don't know," Arizona huffed out and looked back over at her ex that had her tray in hand and was glancing around the cafeteria and then spotted Maggie and flashed that smile of hers and walked towards her friend.

Arizona was glad she had found a friend in Maggie, she needed one. Callie had taken a lot of hits when people realized she was dating the woman that Meredith blamed for the death of Derek. Callie always had a plethora of friends but now seemed to be the loner on the back of the bus these days. She felt bad for the woman because she was a social person, craved interaction and the attention of others, so she knew the woman was taking it hard.

"So she's not falling for it?"

"I don't want her to fall for anything," Arizona said being pulled back into the conversation by the red head. "I'm not trying to get her to do something she doesn't want to do. I want her to see me again, notice me, see that I've changed, that I'm back to the person I need to be. I want her to want to be with me, and the items I've been giving her are just reminding her that I'm still here, that I still exist. I want her to get my gifts and remember that everything with us wasn't always toxic, that there was a whole lot of good between us. Do you know?"

"I think so. So your not trying to win her back?"

"No...well I am, but I want her to want to come back to me. I want her to look at me and think "oh god, I love her" and then realize we need to be together."

"What if this doesn't work?"

"Haven't gotten that far in my thought process.....I don't want to think about it. I can't think about it. This has to work," she stated looking over at Callie and seeing how beautiful she looked. She was smiling at Maggie and she looked happy. Truly happy, and she couldn't remember the last time she had noticed that. And then it occurred to her what she was going to get for the brunette and smiled from ear to ear.

"So what did you get today?" Maggie asked as Callie sat down next to her.

"Nothing yet, my Santa has been delivering in the afternoon most of the time. How about you?"

"My secret Santa sent me a really pretty set of earrings."

"Figured out who you have yet?" Callie asked sort of listening but looking over at Arizona. She was sitting next to April but Callie knew Arizona well enough to know she wasn't listening to the woman's he was sitting with. She was nodding at the right times but her mind was not on April, she was certain of it.

She watched her nod and take bites, occasionally saying something, but for the most part the woman was off some place else and Callie wondered where that place was. What was she thinking about, stressing about she could tell as she kept taking her napkin and wringing it in her hands. Sure fire way to tell that Arizona was stressed about something and was trying to work it out, but the way she was wringing that napkin and placing in her lap the doing it again told her that she was working hard on whatever it was.

Callie wondered what she was doing. She knew Arizona was going out of her way to send memorable gifts to her, to remind her of the good times, the times when they were so in love they couldn't get enough of each other. The times when they would fall in bed together at seven at night and not make an appearance until the next day, soaking each other up as much as they could.

"Callie?" Maggie asked pulling her back in, she had totally forgotten about the woman she was having lunch with. "I asked who you had."

"Oh. I have Arizona."

"Arizona! Wow. Talk about awkward. I thought it was weird that I had DeLuca but you having Arizona is really weird. I mean what do you get your ex wife?"

"Ha...yeah I've been stressing about that actually."

"I'm sure. So what did you get her today?"

"Oh, I actually haven't gotten anything yet, I was just going to run to the gift shop later and pick something up for her," Callie lied. She already had the perfect gift sitting on her desk. It was exactly what Arizona had wanted at one point in their relationship, they had seen it together once and Callie never forgot it. She had gone and picked it up yesterday and had it sitting on her desk for the past day and she was actually giddy about giving it to her.

"Gift shop huh? Glad I didn't get you," Maggie laughed and stood up to leave. "See you later."

Callie looked up and saw Arizona leaving the room and watched her as she walked away. Wow she had a nice ass. Callie really missed that ass, when she used to be able to call it hers. She loved to grab her ass when she least expected it, it always made her squeal a little and Callie loved that. That cute little squeal she did.

She had been thinking more and more about Arizona and what this all meant. Could they do it differently this time? Better? She'd like to think they could but what made her think it would work now? They gave it everything they had before and couldn't seem to figure it all out. This time though, how would they make it work?

As much as she missed him, she knew that a lot of their problems stemmed from Mark and he wouldn't be around to be in the way this time and she knew that was huge. Arizona was always put off by Mark, and rightly so. Callie knew she had handled all of that the wrong way. Arizona tried over and over to voice her concerns about Mark but Callie had dismissed them, saying he was her best friend. He was important to her, she would tell Arizona. But what she didn't hear herself saying, that Arizona did hear was "Mark is more important" was implied when she would say that. That was all Arizona heard when Callie would say those things and even if Mark was her best friend, Arizona was actually her best friend. There was no denying that.

She missed that. How much she missed the blonde and how close they had been at one point. She could tell her anything and the blonde always understood what she was saying without asking. Sometimes they didn't even need words, they were able to communicate by looking at each other. She missed being in bed with her, cuddling and talking long into the night, Arizona would always play with her hair when they had their late night gab fest.

There was no doubt about it, Callie was absolutely missing the blonde but what he needed to figure out was she being nostalgic and missing the blonde....or did she actually miss her. She didn't want to start anything up only to realize she was missing the old days and not actually the person that was in those memories. She needed to make sure both of them were doing all of this for the right reason and that reason was love.

Arizona finished her last surgery of the day and ran back to her office to get her gift for Callie so she could hand it off to an intern before heading to the daycare to grab Sofia. The next couple of days were hers with the baby girl and she was so looking forward to it. On the nights she didn't have the girl she found herself working until ten or eleven at night, eating out of the vending machine and barely getting any sleep. It had taken her a long time to realize how much she hated being alone. She loved the days when the little girl was in the house, laughing and squealing, running through the house at full speed. And the messes the girl made were out of this world, but Arizona found that when she wasn't in the house, it was clean and quiet...and she hated it. She wanted the girl with her all the time. She had never wanted children, had never asked for a life with kids in it, but now that she had it....she wouldn't change it for anything. She loved that little girl more than anything and she would do anything for her. She had recently found herself wishing for more.

She was finally at a point in her life when she could handle more and when she looked at Sofia and how quickly it was all going she wasn't ready to give up those days quite yet. She missed the baby days, the smell of her head and her little coos, the way she insisted on holding onto Arizona's hand all the time even in the car. She could remember a short trip once when Arizona had to turn herself around in her seat and hold the young girls hand so she wouldn't cry. It felt like an eternity and made her back hurt, but she would have done it all over if the girl had asked.

She missed that and she would love to be able to finally settle down and have more. She just didn't know if she had waited to long. All those years she had fought it so hard and now...now she actually found herself wishing she hadn't been so stubborn.

"Dr. Robbins, this is for you," an intern said handing her a small bag. She graciously accepted it and handed him her bag asking for it to be delivered.

Arizona went back in her office and sat down in her chair pulling a small box out of the bag and a note.

You once wanted this so badly  
I wanted to get it for you before our part  
But the gods treated us so poorly  
And now I can finally give you a new  
heart

Arizona crinkled up her eyes and opened the box only to be staring at the exact same heart necklace she had just sent with the intern. If it weren't for the poem she would have thought she handed him back the wrong bag.

Callie was sprinting through the lobby after being paged back in when an intern stopped her and handed her the bag. She accepted it and stopped in an on call room to open it up before heading back to surgery.

She opened the box and saw two circle discs with a small heart in the center and Sofia's birth stone hanging on it. The first disc said "I love you mommy" and the second disc had Sofia's name and birth date.

Callie couldn't believe it. It was almost the exact same necklace she had sent for Arizona except hers said "mama" instead of "mommy."

Fate was playing a cruel game with them....she wasn't sure what it all meant but she couldn't believe that they had gotten each other the same necklace. It was similar to the old ones they used to wear but a little more suped up.

It was perfect and absolutely gave her the answer she had been searching for. This was it, she knew now what she wanted more than anything.

Callie's phone buzzed and she looked down to see "Day 7: charity day" and a smile graced her face as she thought about the charity of choice for the blonde and couldn't wait to make it happen.


	7. Chapter 7

Giving it to you a day early because I have had a bizarre day and need something good. Hope you like. Would love to hear some reviews!!!

Santa's little helper 7/13

Charity day

 

Arizona had that grin on her face again, the one that made it look like she had been up to no good the night before. The one that occasionally stopped others in their tracks and helped them notice just how beautiful she was. It was the grin that won over the hearts of countless women over the years as well as professors, coffee baristas and a few police officers when need be. The fact was the woman still had it and the smile only helped spotlight it.

She was also happy to be sporting her new necklace, it wasn't quite like the one of the past, but it made her feel a sense of completion by wearing it. It was as though a small piece of her had been missing and putting that necklace on this morning had only helped her feel whole again. She found herself grabbing it a lot, running her hands over it, holding it when she talked to others. There was no doubt she loved her new necklace. The heart necklace version 2.0 as she liked to refer to it. 

Unbeknownst to anyone else she carried the other necklace with her all the time, in her pocket she carried a very small blue Tiffany's velvet pouch that some earrings had come in once upon a time but now in the pouch on once side she had the necklace and the other side carried her wedding band. She kept that velvet pouch in her pocket at all times, no one needed to know, she didn't pull it out, but she never left home without it. When she was in the hospital she kept it in her lab coat pocket and would run her hand over it several times a day when she needed to think about something good. And while Callie was the source of a lot of pain in her life, there was no doubt, she was the source of all the good. 

So she stood at the nurses station with her big goofy grin on her face, holding her new necklace in her hand while signing off on charts. 

"Dr Robbins!" She heard and turned to see Bailey standing in front of her.

"Hi chief!" She said enthusiastically.

"Don't hi me! Have you been in the lobby? It looks like a damn Macey's Christmas window. Fix it!" She said and turned on her heel leaving a very flustered blonde confused. 

"Chief?!" Arizona called after the woman perplexed by what had just happened.

"Fix it!" She called over her shoulder halfway down the hall. Arizona figured she should see what she was talking about and took off for the lobby. 

Xxxxxxxxx

Callie was sitting in her office, leaning back in her chair, hand over her chest with a very special necklace under her palm. She had forgotten just how much she loved wearing that necklace all those years ago. She loved having a link between the two of them, something that said they belonged to each other. Most of the other attendings found it sickeningly sweet and didn't hesitate to tell them, but they didn't care. They were still in their pink bubble then and loved how cheesy it was. 

She had taken the old one off when things started to go south between the two of them and placed it in her jewelry box, on the bottom, in the back, so she wouldn't have to see it every time she dug in there for earrings or a necklace. She would on occasion pull it out and look at it, but for the most part she kept it in its place because if she had to look at it all the time she would cry for sure. She tended to be a nostalgic person and she knew that leaving it in the back was the safest place it and for herself.

But now, she was wearing this new necklace and found that she had butterflies in her stomach. Actual, full fledged butterflies attacking her when she thought about the necklace and the blonde that had given it to her. What did all this mean? And what was she supposed to do with the information? Was she expected to ask Arizona out? Was that the next logical step here? Is that what Arizona wanted? Was waiting for? She wasn't sure which of them was expected to take the next step, if it was her then he needed to do it soon. She was like a kid on Christmas morning with things like this, she just could t help herself. She wanted to jump in. Now! Head over heels, call up the blonde and ask her out for tonight. 

But then she caught herself from picking up the phone and told herself to calm down. She needed to chill out and take her time with this information so that they did it right. The two of them needed to take this slow and do it right this time if they wanted to make it work. Callie had been pushing her feelings aside for years when it came to the blonde because it was the safe thing to do. But now....she wanted to see what they could do, together, to try this again and this time....she was going to make sure it worked. She was not going to fail this time.

But she was at a loss for how to try again. She looked up at the door and saw it slowly opening and an intern came walking in with a bag for her. She smiled and thanked the intern and set the bag on her desk. She wondered if Arizona had seen her gift yet and stood up to walk out to the lobby.

Xxxxxxxxx

Arizona went to the lobby and couldn't believe what she saw. There standing in the center was Santa Claus with four elves next to him and a group of carolers singing that were all dressed in period costume. 

"Dr. Robbins, Santa says he is here for you," a nurse said handing her an envelope with her name on it. She quickly ripped it open and read the paper in it and the smile on her face and the tears in her eyes told Callie, who was watching, that she loved it.

Santa stopped to see the tiny humans  
He knows how you hate when the kids are stuck here  
So have fun, turn on the cartoons  
At least they can have a little cheer

Arizona looked up at Santa and he was holding a large bag of what she guessed were presents.

"Dr. Robbins! Would you like to show me the way to Peds?" He bellowed at her and she just smiled at him and all the other people. Something like this, was a little bit of a dream come true for a woman that wore butterflies on her scrub cap.

Arizona led him up to her wing and the carolers quickly jumped in and started working their songs while the rest of the crew set up. They had trays of cookies and hot chocolate while the elves set up an area for Santa to hand out gifts.

"Santa?" Arizona said approaching him and he smiled at her. She looked at his beard and noted it was real, this was a good Santa if she had ever seen one. "Do you have enough gifts for all the kids? Because if not I could run out..."

"No, no I have a specific gift for each child here. We will start with the kids that are able to come to me, then I'll go to the rooms of the kids that can't get out of their beds."

"Really this is unbelievable, thank you," she said in awe of what was happening.

He smiled be at her and sat down in the chair provided and the kids started to come out to see him. Arizona watched as the kids told him what they wanted and he would hand them each a gift, which was usually what they had asked for.

"I don't understand," Arizona said to one of the nurses, confused at how this was all working so well. 

"There was a woman here yesterday and she talked to all the kids, found out what each of them was asking for. I guess she was sent here by this Santa."

"But...this must be costing a fortune!" Arizona said and looked at the room and saw all the gifts the kids were opening and watched the bright smiles on their faces. Some of these kids were living here and had been for some time. Some would never leave the confines of the hospital walls and so a day like this, was a true blessing for them.

"I'm not sure about that, talk to Santa, he should be able to tell you who is paying for all this," the nurse said and went to help one of the kids open the gift she had received.

Arizona sat back and watched as the kids ran around, excitedly playing with their toys, listening to the carolers and eating the cookies. It had been awhile since she had seen them all this happy. She loved it.

"How's it going?"She heard and turned to see the person that had made it all happen.

"Callie! What did you do?!" Arizona yelled and Callie furled her brows at the woman that was yelling at her. Did she not like this? Was she mad?

"I'm sorry...is this not okay?" Callie asked and looked at the woman in front of her that looked upset. Why was she upset? Had this all been too much?

"Callie...I just...this is unbelievable and quite possibly the nicest thing anyone has ever done for us, but I'm worried about the cost!"

"Why are you worried about that?" Callie asked a little upset.

"Because this is....it's so nice and I can't believe you did it, but it's a little insane."

"First, it's not me," she said with a smile. "I didn't do this, your secret Santa did. And second, if the person that is your secret Santa is responsible for this then I am sure that person probably got a foundation to pay for all this."

Arizona looked at her ex wife and couldn't believe she had done this. "I can't wait to thank my secret Santa, it's the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me," Arizona said quietly, leaned in and gave Callie a peck on the cheek, then walked over to the kids and helped them start opening the gifts that hadn't been opened yet.

Xxxxxxxxx

Callie sat down at her desk with a huge smile on her face. She had done well with this gift and she knew it. She glanced at the gift that was on her desk and realized she hadn't opened it yet. 

She picked up the box and ran it around her hands for a minute. Wondering what it was, then took the paper off and opened the box to see a piece of paper in the box with her name on it.

Calliope Torres,  
A room has been opened up in your name at the Seattle LGBQT Youth Center, providing a safe place for a homeless youth to stay each night.  
Thank you for your generous donation, the LGBQT youth applaud your efforts.

Seattle LGBQT

She sat with her mouth wide open and couldn't believe what she had in her hand. This was a dream of hers. She had wanted to do this for years and always put it off for lack of time but now...she was holding in her hands one of the few things in this world that she truly wanted. 

Her phone pinged and she looked at it: day 7, Drink It up! She sat for a few minutes thinking of what she could get Arizona and then got a big smile on her face, she knew what to get her!


	8. Chapter 8

Follow me on tumblr if you are so inclined "magicgirlwrites" is what you can find me under. Same for Twitter. I sometimes release pictures and chapters a little early.

Cigarsonice-you made me blush :-)

 

Santa's little helper 8/13   
Drink It Up

Callie had been so excited to get her secret Santa gift she immediately went to check out the room and make sure they had everything needed for it. The initial room had been purchased under her name and there would be some standard up keep fees each month that she was more than happy to sign on for. It was the thought that Arizona had set this up for her that mattered the most. She took the time to tour the facility and set up some time that she could come in and volunteer on her limited free time. She knew this was going to be nothing but a positive experience for her and she couldn't wait to make the most of it.

She couldn't have been happier with her gift and really wanted to let Arizona know what it had meant to her. With her next gift she needed to make sure to go above and beyond with her gift this time. The theme was "Drink It Up" and she had the perfect idea but she was going to need some help to make it happen.

She didn't feel like she had slacked off in her last gift to Arizona, in fact she knew she hadn't at all. The look on Arizona's face had said it all, and that kiss she had given to Callie on the cheek......well that just went above and beyond any "thank you" could ever do. When Arizona reached in and gave her that little kiss, it set her on fire. Inside and out. It had been a very long time since she had Arizona that close to her and feeling her lean in, and place that kiss on her cheek, told her exactly how she was feeling. Callie had been slightly confused up until that point, she knew she had been feeling certain things for the blonde again she just wasn't sure if it was nostalgia that was wearing in her or if it was more.

When Arizona leaned in for that little kiss, there was no question about it then. Callie knew. She was falling for Arizona again and she was falling hard. Something she had a real knack for doing, but at this point she really didn't care, there was nothing she could do to stop these feelings or even slow them down. Having the blonde close to her, feeling her light touch on her arm when she leaned in, the smell of her perfume and shampoo invading her senses, well that was all Callie needed to know that this was what she wanted, this was what she needed, this was what she had been missing out on. 

Now she had to figure out how to make this happen. She had been trying to decide if she should ask the blonde out on a date, but she wasn't sure how to make it happen without putting herself out there too far. She needed to be cautious and make sure neither of them jumped into this without weighing all the possible implications. While she knew a lot of good could come from this, she also knew that there was the possibility of this going bad. Quickly. 

They both also needed to make sure they thought about Sofia in all this, she was the most important factor in this whole mess. They couldn't jump into this with both feet and let the little girl get hurt again, no, they needed to take their time and make sure this would work. It had to work. 

Xxxxxxx

Arizona was on cloud nine for sure, the Christmas celebration for her ward had gone over very well. The kids were so excited and had a wonderful time. Arizona had put in Christmas movies and they all played and had fun for the rest of the day celebrating and playing with all the new toys. She had even called in for pizza to be delivered for the entire ward to continue the celebration just a little longer. 

She wanted to make sure her next gift was up to par and had been thinking about it for the previous two days and knew what she wanted to get Callie, it was just a matter of making it happen. 

She had also been thinking of asking Callie out on a date. Maybe not an actual date, but she had a plan that would allow them to be together but not on such a formal note as a date. She knew just how to draw the other woman in and had no doubt it was going to work.

Arizona had been in the cafeteria for fifty minutes waiting for Callie to show up for lunch but so far she hadn't seen her. There was only so much time she could waste in the cafeteria and she was closing in on that time frame. She was going to have to get back up to her ward soon as they were busy with the kids today. 

And then she saw her walk in and knew this was her chance, she had to move now. Arizona cleared up her area and went running after the brunette that was grabbing up her lunch.

"Hey Callie," Arizona breathed out coming up behind the brunette.

"Hey," Callie said quietly turning to see the blonde standing before her, looking slightly nervous, making her wonder what was up.

"So I was wondering, umm, Sofia has that Polar Express sleepover tonight and that means you're free and I'm free and I was thinking maybe we could go Christmas shopping together for her. If you weren't busy already. I don't know what you had planned to get her or your parents and I thought maybe we could go...together...tonight."

Callie was standing before the blonde with a smile on her face. She knew how hard this was for Arizona, to put herself out there like this. And the way she was rambling just made her that much more adorable and only made Callie want to pull her in for a hug that much more.

"Yeah, that would be great, I'm not done until 7, maybe we could grab something to eat before. You know.... If you're up for it," Callie quietly told Arizona and smiled shyly at her which caused the blonde to have butterflies in the pit of her stomach immediately. 

"I'd love that, thanks. I'll see you at 7," Arizona told her and gave her a quick smile and walked away. 

To say there was an extra bounce in her walk was quite an understatement, Arizona was actually bouncing down the halls, ponytail in full swing as she found her way back to her ward. 

She immediately got the last of her items ready for the secret Santa gift then called in an intern to deliver it for her and sat back in her chair thinking about tonight. Things were actually working out well for her in all of this and it almost made her worry because things hadn't been working in her favor for a very long time. 

She was still sitting at her desk when a small knock could be heard and she called the person in.

"Dr Robbins, this is for you," an intern said coming in with a card in her hand. Arizona looked at the card in confusion, had she read the day wrong?

She opened up the card and looked to see a small business card fall out and a small slip of paper.

What would you think was pure bliss  
Well I know what I'd want if it was me  
I thought long and hard on this  
The best gift, a years supply of coffee

Arizona looked at the card and it entitled her to all the coffee she could drink from the coffee cart for the entire year. A surgeons dream come true! She was giddy and went scampering from her desk to grab her first one. This was going to be a good year after all!

Xxxxxxxx

Callie was trying to finish up her last paper work when she saw an intern walking towards her with a big box.

"Dr Torres this is for you," he said setting the box down on the nurses station and leaving. The box had been very heavy and he really didn't want to get stuck dragging it around anymore. 

Callie eyed the large box in front of her then picked it up and made it back to her office before she finally dropped it in her desk with a large clang. It had been much heavier than she thought and wondered what Arizona had packed away in there. 

She opened the box and on top was a note telling her to open the gifts in order. She looked in and on top was a package labeled "1", so she removed it and unwrapped it to find the a six pack of the beer that she and Arizona had shared on their first date in her apartment when they danced together. She sat with one of the beer bottles in her hand and thought about that night, they had had so much fun that night. She glanced back in and saw another box "2" and removed it. It was a six pack of the beer they had shared their first night together after Izzie and Alex's wedding. On and on she pulled out wine from a dinner they shared, the champagne they shared at their wedding, each bottle or six pack represented a night they had shared something particularly important and had shared a drink to celebrate it. She was holding so many memories right now she barely knew what to think. Maybe, just maybe, they would have the opportunity to share all these together again. 

Eventually she stood up, took off her lab coat and got herself ready for her date with Arizona for that night. She was going to have to get a move on if she was going to meet her on time. She spruced up her makeup a little, grabbed her purse and took off for the lobby.

Arizona was already there, coffee cup in hand, which put a smile on Callie's face and made her wonder if she should have put a daily cap on the coffee. Arizona would drink herself silly if there wasn't a limit.

"Hi," Arizona breathed out when she saw Callie approaching. "You look great," she said and looped her arm through Callie's, an old habit, then looked up at the brunette to see if it was okay.

Callie patted Arizona's arm a little, gave her a smile and started walking toward the door. "You look beautiful tonight, Arizona," Callie told her, giving the blonde an encouraging look. 

"Where would you like to go to dinner?" Arizona asked and Callie smiled at her as they walked out of the hospital, together, like they had done so many times before. Of course there were a few people that noticed and took a second glance at the now divorced couple that were leaving together. And of course one person in particular was watching with a giant smile on his face.

"Oh you, you think your so smooth," Dr webber heard but didn't turn, he knew that voice.

"I don't know what you mean," he told her feigning innocence to the short woman that was standing before him, glaring. Looking very much like a Chief.

"Mmhmm, sure you don't," she mumbled and walked past him, headed towards her office. He still had a little grin on his face when he turned to walk back towards his office. His work was almost done.

Callie and Arizona sat at a quiet booth in a new Italian restaurant, this was all new to them, fresh, so why not start with a new place to eat as well.

"So....what did your Secret Santa get you today?" Callie asked with a mischievous grin on her face.

"Only the best thing ever! All the coffee I can drink in a year!" She said enthusiastically.

"You do realize that isn't a challenge, right?" Callie asked, causing the blonde to erupt in laughter. Callie watched her throw her head back and she realized once again how wonderful this woman sitting across from her was. How had she forgotten that? Callie desperately wanted to reach out and touch the blonde, she wanted to feel her skin under her fingertips, letting them gently glide over her arm, watching as her arm would undoubtedly form goose bumps under her touch. And watching Arizona throw her head back like that only made Callie want to lean in and kiss that neck, letting her tongue run up the length of her neck, from the hollow to just below her ear where she would normally then bubble for a little bit causing the blonde to become putty in her hands. 

"Callie?" Arizona asked and Callie shook herself out of her thoughts and looked up at Arizona questioningly. "I asked what you thought about getting Sofia a doll house," Arizona asked her wondering where Callie had gone. 

"I think she would love that," Callie said taking a long draw off her wine. She needed to pull herself together if she was going to make it through this night and not attack the blonde. She was not going to rush this, even though every time the blonde did that insanely adorable thing she does when gets shy and looks down at her hands, causing Callie to want to grab her up into a fit of kisses....but no, no. They were not going to do that. No way. Callie was going to act like an adult and treat this dinner as an adult dinner where two people say and ate and didn't end up in bed together.

Because that wasn't going to happen!

Arizona was on her side of the table going a little crazy because she kept asking Callie things but she didn't seem to be paying any attention to her and it was causing the blonde to wonder if this was a huge mistake. Maybe dinner and Christmas shopping for their daughter was a bad idea. She looked over at Callie, who was staring at Arizona's hands, and wondered silently why this woman was brushing her off. Maybe she had read all the signals incorrectly, maybe Callie wasn't interested in her again. 

"Callie?" She asked again causing the brunette to physically shake her head, apparently trying to pull herself out of whatever day dream she had just been part of. 

"I'm sorry Arizona I know I'm being a horrible dinner companion," which caused Arizona to cringe. Did she not consider this a date? Ex wives out together for some extra "dinner companionship" rather than what she thought it was. Two hot, ex lovers in a sexy Italian restaurant sipping wine together with the thought this could possible lead to more. Not tonight of course, but sometime in the near future.

"No....you aren't, listen I'm a little tired, I've had a long day and I think I'm having caffeine withdrawals at the moment. Do you care if I cut this dinner short?" Arizona asked and looked up at the brunette that looked crestfallen. 

"Oh....sure, if that's what you want? You don't want to Christmas shop for Sof?" Callie asked trying to draw the woman back in.

"No, I'm sure we will both come up with great gifts for her. I'll see you tomorrow."

Callie watched as the woman got up to leave and decided, no! It couldn't end like this.

"Arizona....did I do something wrong?" Callie quietly asked Arizona, who turned back to look at the brunette.

"You seem...preoccupied tonight and I think I just want to go home."

"Don't you know?" Callie whispered to the blonde. "It's you. I'm distracted by you, you're so beautiful...and I can barely keep my eyes off of you let alone my hands which desperately want to reach out and touch you."

Arizona stood next to the brunette with her mouth open, not knowing what to say, because she was not expecting those words to come out of her mouth.

"Well scoot over," Arizona said nudging the brunette to scoot into the booth.

"What are you doing?"

"Who am I to deny you the chance to touch me all you want for the rest of the evening and if I sit way over there, you won't be able to," Arizona said with a newfound confidence in her voice and sat down next to the brunette, picked up her hand and placed it in her own. 

"It's perfect....you know?" Callie whispered.

"What?"

"How easily your hand fits with mine. It's like they were always meant to be together."

Arizona looked down at their hands that were holding each other for the first time in a long time, looked up at the brunette and gave her a smile.

"I think they were," she said and leaned her head onto the brunette's shoulder and then she felt Callie lean her head over on top of Arizona's. 

Arizona saw her phone light up "day 9 will be Dinner in the kitchen".


	9. Chapter 9

Glad you all are enjoying this story, I've had so much fun writing it, it's been light and carefree, perfect for this crazy time of year!! I know I've been going nutty with shopping and shipping and last minute things, so sit back and enjoy the chapter, at least for a few minutes. Only four days left after this one!

Santa's little helper 9/13

Dinner in the kitchen

Arizona was convinced that being part of the Secret Santa tradition was the best thing that had ever happened to her. And to think she had tried to get out of it, but thankfully Dr Webber hadn't let her off the hook that easy. She and Callie enjoyed a nice quiet evening together, talking and sitting with each other, enjoying each other's presence and just being with each other. 

They stayed at the restaurant far too long and all the stores were closed by the time they walked out together. They reluctantly said goodbye to each other with a short kiss on the cheek and they parted for the evening. 

Arizona was already full on mode to figure out the best gift for Callie for the next gift. While Callie lived to cook, she was very difficult to shop for because she had everything. If it belonged in a kitchen, Callie owned it. Except one thing. There was one thing she had been holding out on all these years, because it was expensive and over indulgent and she just didn't want to splurge. 

Arizona knew exactly what to get her because every time they went into Sur La Table, Callie went right for it, ran her long delicate fingers over it, then let out a heavy little sigh and walked on. But not any more. Arizona was going to get her the one over the top gift that the brunette hadn't bought herself in all the years. The one item every chef wanted in their kitchen, Arizona was going to make it come true for her. 

Was it too much? Absolutely, but Arizona was hopeful that she would get to enjoy this in her future as well, as she really felt like they were on the road to being reunited. She knew they had a long way to go still, but she really felt like, for the first time they were actually listening to each other, hearing each other and trying to do something about it. She was hopeful it would work out for them as they both seemed to finally want the same thing.

So Arizona ran out at lunch and spent a small fortune on the secret Santa gift for Callie vowing that she better get some amazing meals in the near future.

Callie on the other hand was having a harder time with Arizona's gift. While Callie loved to spend time in the kitchen, Arizona didn't. It wasn't that she couldn't cook, she just didn't want to. She chose to spend her free time doing many other things that didn't include cooking and cleaning a kitchen. So Callie had been thinking long and hard on what to get her. She had an idea but it was going to take her the better part of the afternoon to make it work. She was a little worried that Arizona might not find it as funny as Callie did, it wasn't a mean gift, but if the blonde was in the wrong sort of mood, she might not like it. But she really felt like it was a good gift and one that Arizona could utilize. 

Callie had had a wonderful time with Arizona when they went to dinner. She had no idea when they left the hospital together things would progress as quickly as they did. She was nervous at first to let things get out of hand, but she also knew that she needed to just let things happen as they did. She needed to not try and control every situation so closely and let things progress at their own speed. 

It was hard to do this though, because she felt like if she didn't control the situations then they were bound to get hurt. She desperately wanted to take Arizona and just hold her close and never let her go, but she knew that wasn't a possibility right now. It was important for them both to not rush, but rather let things flow. 

It was going to be hard to do, both of them were surgeons and used to being very much in control of all situations and neither gave up that control very easy. But Callie knew what she was facing, there was no doubt she knew what was possible here and she also knew that she needed to step back and let things play out. Not rush anything and just let things progress as they were. And so far...things had been amazing. She couldn't have asked for a better scenario for things to play out. It seemed everything was working out in their favor.

Callie grabbed up her purse and took off for her errands to get Arizona her gift. It would take her the better part of the afternoon to make it happen but she knew it was going to be fun and something that only Arizona could truly appreciate. Callie still was slightly nervous for this one, but she really felt that Arizona could appreciate it. 

Arizona was returning from her errand of getting Callie her gift when she ran int April.

"Hey!" Arizona said to the redhead that was looking a little lost.

"Wow. Big box!"

"It's for my secret Santa," Arizona told her shifting the box and setting it on the nurses station.

"Ummm, I'm pretty sure there was a spending limit on these gifts," April said noticing the bag and reading the name on it. 

"Yeah don't you worry your pretty head about that. This is between me and my secret Santa so stay out of it. Anyway, what did you get your person?"

"I got Jackson an apron with Santa on it, but I didn't get it at Sur La Table. Jeeze Arizona are those..."

"Okay! See you later April," Arizona grabbed her bag and took off for her office. She needed to wrap it and have it sent to Callie. She had also been thinking of asking if they could have dinner together with Sofia. She was considering asking if she wanted to join them for pizza and maybe they could take the little girl to see Santa one more time before the big day was upon them.

Callie was running from one place to another trying to make the best gift she could think of for Arizona. She had been to ten different places so far and had five more on her list and then she could go back the hospital. She had hoped to be back an hour ago, but it was taking her longer than she thought to run all her errands. 

Arizona had her large box wrapped and sent down to Callie's office but she had yet to see the woman today and it was time for her to pick up Sofia from the daycare. She hadn't even gotten a present from Callie today and she thought that was weird, but she couldn't wait on her anymore. She had to get Sofia and get her home.

Arizona slowly picked up Sofia and wasted as much time as she could walking through the corridors as slowly as she could but she didn't run into Callie. To say that she was disappointed was a gross understatement, never mind the fact that she hadn't gotten a gift from her, she was really hoping to spend some time with the woman again tonight. 

She sighed and walked on with the little girl next to her talking away about her day and Santa and what she was going to get and what she wanted for dinner and who played with her at school. The little girl was seldom at a loss for words and often could hold a conversation all on her own.

Callie came running into the hospital and sped up to her office only to see a large box on her desk and she slumped her shoulders in defeat. She had tried her hardest but just couldn't get back on time. She had gotten held up in traffic and as much as she tried to maneuver around it, she couldn't make it work. It was late and she knew Arizona had already picked up Sofia and would have her home and probably feeding her. She really had hoped to make it back in time, but now she was going to have to deliver the gift to Arizona at her home.

She sat at her desk and looked at the large box and wondered what Arizona could have gotten her. The box was very large and she knew whatever it was she was sure to love it.

Callie slowly sat back and started to unwrap the box and when she saw what it was she let out a large gasp. She couldn't believe the blonde had gotten this for her. She had been eying this for years. Years. And the blonde knew she had always wanted this. 

She quickly put her gift together and ran out of her office, with her box of course, and took off for Arizona's house.

Arizona was cleaning up dinner when she heard a knock at the door. She wiped her hands and went to the door, but no one was there so she opened the door and on the door mat was a small bag. She picked it up and recognized the writing, smiled a little and walked back into the house.

She sat down on the couch and opened up the card that was enclosed.

What to get a person that doesn't cook  
And then it occurred to me!  
All your favorite menus in a book  
And a certificate so you can eat free

Arizona opened up the bag and inside was a series of takeout menus to all of her favorite places and stapled to each menu was a gift certificate for her to use. She held them for a minute then started to laugh. It was absolutely perfect! She loved it. She threw her head back and laughed and laughed as she held the menus to her chest and thought about all the dinners she wouldn't have to cook.

Callie had almost knocked on the door again and when she heard the blonde laughing she knew she had done well. She decided to leave it alone for tonight and walked back down to her car and hopped in. She looked over at the large box of all copper pots and pans she had dreamed of for so long and thought about all the amazing meals she could make her family. 

If they were allowed to be her family again some day.

Her phone buzzed and she looked down at it: Keeping Warm


	10. Chapter 10

Only a few more days left! Hope you all are getting all your shopping done. The girls also only have a few more days left, are they going to be able to pull it off? We shall see!

 

Santa's little helper 10/13

Arizona was floating these days, she was slowly getting her life back, she really felt like a reconciliation was on the way with Callie AND she wasn't going to have to cook for at least six months. These were the things that made her happy. Well, really that made anyone happy. Health, love and food, what more do you need in life?

She was a lot happier these days and most everyone noticed this new change in her. At one point she was easily known as "the dark one" as she was trying to get her life back things had gotten...well...dark for her. She had been through a lot over the past few years...all of them had, really. As much as she had been through, she knew Callie had been through just as much...but in a different way. 

While Arizona was trying to heal, and become complete again she had lost sight of the fact that Callie needed to do the same. Even if they were to move towards a reconciliation it might take them even more time to finish the healing that still needed to happen. Arizona was always one to think long and hard about the possibilities and outcomes in every situation, she didn't rush into anything, but with Callie.....she seemed to always loose all her senses, let her guard down and just throw all her rules into the wind. Something about the woman made her want to let it all go. 

And that had always scared her. She had never given herself so freely to anyone else. Had never let her guard down the way she did with Callie, allowed herself to give in to someone so easily. While it should have scared her to let herself go like that, with her....it didn't. She felt whole when she was with Callie, she was the one person in this world that she allowed herself to really be.

This whole secret Santa experience had worked out for the good that was for sure, it was slowly allowing them to see each other again. He had forgotten how considerate Callie was with gifts and thinking about her. She loved every gift Callie had given her so far and couldn't wait until the next one. 

But what was she going to get Callie? She wasn't sure. Staying warm was sort of vague and Callie wasn't one that was ever cold. Quite the opposite was true about the woman, she seemed to always be warm while Arizona was perpetually cold. Cold all the time and the loss of the limb didn't help, it actually made it worse as her circulation became even poorer, so she was constantly cold.

Arixona had been thinking for an entire day about what to get Callie and had one small idea but she wasn't sure if she liked it or not. She needed some help with this one.

Callie on the other hand was already putting her gift together for the blonde. She knew just what to get her, there was no question about it. Arizona always had these cold fingers and toes and she used to love to put them on Callie's legs or her back when she least expected it. It always amazed Callie that a person could be that cold. She used to find herself grabbing Arizona's hand and warming them for her because it didn't matter what time of day, they were going to be cold.

As she was putting the finishing touches on the gift she gave herself a small pat on the back and smiled at the package sitting in front of her. There was no doubt the blonde was going to love this one. Not that she had slacked off on any of her gifts leading up to today, but this one in particular was going to go over well. She just knew it. 

"Hey!" She looked up and saw Maggie enter her office.

"How are you?" Callie took the large box off her desk and set it on the floor.

"How is your secret Santa going?" Maggie asked sitting down on the chair and looking at the large box on the floor.

"It's good. I think things are going really well," Callie smiled at the attending thinking about the gifts she had received and given this week. She didn't need to share any of those items with the other woman for fear of how she would react. 

"That's a big box you got there. What did you get her today?"

"Oh just a few things to keep warm."

"Mmhmm, so how's all that going? With you having Arizona?" Maggie asked narrowing her eyes and looking at the woman sitting before her. She could tell something was up with her, she had barely seen her all week, catching glimpses of her running in and out of the hospital with bags and boxes. She knew it was Christmas time and she was probably shopping, but still she felt like there was more to it than that and she had s sneaking suspicion what it was. 

"It's going fine!" Callie told her in a high pitched sing song voice, probably a little too high she noticed but it was too late.

"Spill it." 

"Fine....Arixona and I have been buying each other very...meaningful gifts for this exchange."

"How meaningful?"

"Things that we would only want to receive from each other. Gifts that only we would know to get each other."

"Hmmmm, and what does your girlfriend say about that?"

"Oh, well, Penny and I broke up last week," Callie said hiding her head a little waiting for what was to come.

"What!? How did I not know this?!"

"I haven't really told too many people about it. It sort of happened and we were both okay with it."

"How can you both be okay with a breakup?"

"We both are. We hadn't been seeing eye to eye on a lot of things leading up to it. It wasn't malicious or horrible, we both just decided it was time to part ways."

"Mmhmm," Maggie said and narrowed her eyes at her friend. "so you are telling me, that you and your girlfriend broke up, amicably, and now you are sending your ex wife meaningful gifts?"

"Yep," Callie breathed out not making eye contact with he other woman.

"Callie!"

"Whaaaat??" Callie drug out. 

"Don't give me that! Look I never knew you and Arizona together. But from what I've heard it wasn't good. Are you certain you want to be doing this?"

"I know you don't get it. I'm sure you've heard the horrible things we put each other through. But have you heard any of the good stuff? Because there was good times. A lot of really good times. I loved her so much. And while we were somewhat toxic for each other it wasn't because of us, it was because of the really horrible situations we were put in. There was a time when I would have literally laid down my life for hers, in fact, I did. But somewhere along the way things just got so...messed up, it didn't matter what we did to fix it, it was never going to get better. So I ended it."

"You did?" Maggie asked, this was something she hadn't heard yet. 

"I did. I loved her so much, but I made her so miserable it was the only way to know."

"What?"

"She needed to heal, on her own and if she still loved me after all that, she'd find me again. This is her finding me," Callie told Maggie with a smile.

"What makes you think it will work this time?"

"Because it has to. I love her too much," Callie told her and stood up, grabbed her box and headed for the door. "I have to deliver this and pick up Sofia, it's my night with her."

Arizona was coming back from the stores when she saw an intern going into her office with a big box.

"Oh! Would you deliver this to Dr. Torres for me? Thanks!" Arizona said and ran into her office and looked at her giant box on the desk. Arizona loved gifts. Everything about them, but this exchange had put a new level of love for gifts. Now they meant so much more.

Cold fingers on my back when we kiss  
When you touched me I'd shout  
Things I never thought I'd miss  
But these should help you out

 

She ripped open the large box and looked in with a big smile. Oh how the woman knew her well. On top was warm fuzzy socks, in four colors, Arizona had a real knack for losing socks. But these were no ordinary socks, these were special warming socks. Underneath was a large heated mattress pad with Dual Zones! Also a small heated throw blanket. It was all things to keep her warm when she was at home and freezing. She loved it all so much. 

Callie was just entering her office when an intern handed her a gift, she thanked him and headed into her office to open it before she had to pick up Sofia.

She took the gift and set it on her desk and meticulously started to open it. When she saw what was in it, she almost couldn't catch her breath. She pulled out the black leather coat, held it up and the put it up to her face and took a big smell out of it.

It was her long lost coat. After the car accident, she never got it back from the wreck, it had been in the back seat and no one thought to get it for her or find it later. By the time she was out of the hospital and thought about it the car had long been destroyed. She had loved that coat so much, and Arizona knew it. This wasn't her actual coat, but it was an exact replica of it and Callie had no idea how the woman had been able to find it, she had been searching for years for it. 

She slipped it on, grabbed her bag and went to collect their daughter for the evening. Her phone pinged and she looked a it: A basket for Christmas Morning.

 

Writers love reviews for Christmas. 

This writer loves reviews and any of the items Arizona got because I am ALWAYS cold. Freezing to be exact. A person should never be this cold.


	11. Chapter 11

Santa's little helper 11/13

Basket for Christmas Morning

Callie was running through the hospital, with her new black leather coat on, trying to get to the other side. She had sent her basket for Arizona to be delivered but needed to get Sofia NOW because the daycare was closing early today. Her last surgery had run late and now she was going to get scolded by the daycare providers because she was late. And she hated being late. It went against her nature but as a surgeon she couldn't control this situation at all.

"Hey!" She looked and saw Arizona standing outside the now closed daycare with their daughter holding her hand.

"Hi! What are you doing here?" Callie breathlessly asked.

"They called you but you were still in surgery so they called me, which was fine because it meant I got to spend a little bit of time with Sof before she had to go home,"Arizona said swinging the little girls hand and smiling down at her daughter. Sofia smiled back up at her mom full of joy.

"Thanks Arizona, I'm so sorry, things.."

"Please, I know, it happens. Anyway, you two have fun tonight and I'll see you tomorrow little girl," Arizona said and leaned down to kiss the little girl.

"We're going to the mall to see Santa!" Sofia said and Callie cringed because she had forgotten she promised the little girl. Now it was going to be a night at the mall with all the other shoppers and food court pizza.

"Oh! That's sounds like so much fun," Arizona said wistfully and looked at them.

"Umm, if you're not doing anything and want to go with us..." Callie said quickly before her mind changed. If she thought about it too long she would lose the nerve and not ask Arixona to go with them.

"Really? But it's your night," Arizona said quietly so that Sofia wouldn't hear. They tried to not make a big deal about who had the little girl when they were with her. They never wanted her to feel like she was being shuffled back and forth between them.

"But she's our daughter and we should both be able to share her. We'd love it if you came," Callie told her with a smile.

"Okay, give me fifteen minutes?" Arizona asked suddenly becoming very excited that she would get to be with the two of them tonight after all.

"Take your time, I have to run back to my office quickly," Callie said and grabbed Sofia's hand and they took off.

"Hey Cal!?" She heard Arizona call and she turned to see the blonde smiling at her. "That coat looks amazing on you," Arizona told her and they both smiled at each other and took off in different directions.

Callie went back to her office because she hadn't opened her gift yet and also she really wanted to settle her nerves. Today's gift had been a little....interesting to both of them. They were supposed to come up with a basket for Christmas morning but where would they be? It was Arizona's year to have Sofia for the morning so she had to think of things for the two of them.

Callie was desperate to spend Christmas morning with her daughter and ex wife but she knew it wasn't her place to ask. The thought of spending the morning on her own was just down right depressing. Arizona was going to get to wake up to an excited and happy little girl, watch her open presents and spend the day with her. Callie was going to get her that evening but it just wasn't the same.

She missed her wife and the family that they had started. She missed days like this when they could share in these moments, the family moments. And since they weren't a family anymore, well that just meant these days were going to be lost along the way.

Callie opened her door and ushered Sofia in then turned on the light. On her desk was a small basket wrapped in green cellophane so she couldn't see what was in the basket.

She sat down and grabbed the basket, it was very light which made her even more curious as to what was in it. She pulled off the cellophane and saw a piece of paper with writing on it and a spatula. She read what was on the paper and felt the tears spring in her eyes and lowered her head.

"Mommy, are you crying? Why are you crying? Mommy?" Sofia asked with concern as she looked at her mother that had just been excited and was now in tears.

"It's okay Sof, it's okay, these are happy tears, let's go find Mama, okay?"

"Yay! Then the mall?"

"Yes, then the mall," Callie said and grabbed the piece of paper, her daughters hand and took off to find her ex wife.

Arizona was in her office quickly changing out of her scrubs and into her clothes. She saw the basket on her desk and wanted to open it, but seeing the basket made her nervous because it made her realize Callie was probably opening hers right now.

What would she say? It was supposed to be a "basket for Christmas morning" and it....sort of was? She wasn't sure what the other woman would think of her gift and all she could do at this point was pray she saw it as a positive thing.

There wasn't really anything she needed to for the morning of Christmas to spend it by herself. There was really only one thing she could come up with and she decided that was what she was going to give the brunette. There was the possibility that Callie might not like it or want it, but she was banking on the brunette being excited about it. It's all she could do now.

Arizona sat at her desk and looked at the basket in front of her. She pealed away the cellophane and saw the contents inside that made her smile. There was a box of pancake mix, because it had always been a tradition to make chocolate chip banana pancakes on Christmas morning with Sofia. There were a few different syrups and some bacon, Mexican hot chocolate tablets, coffee beans, some of Sofia's favorite cookies and some of Arizona's, it would be the perfect basket to set out that morning and not have to stress about having food for the little girl. It was everything she needed t survive the morning by herself.

Arizona grabbed her purse and took off for the lobby to meet up with her ex and Sofia. The two brunette's were waiting on her when she showed up. Callie was holding the piece of paper in her hand so Arizona knew she had opened it and expected they were going to have to talk about it.

"Arizona..." Callie started and Arizona could tell she had been crying. Even all these years she knew when Callie had been crying. "Are you sure about this?"

"Callie I've never been more sure of anything in my life."

"Because I understand if you want..."

"I want you with us that morning. That piece of paper is an invitation for you to spend Christmas morning with your daughter and me if you would like."

"I would love to but I have to ask....are you asking me to do this...because you can't make pancakes?" Callie said and started to laugh which caused the blonde to start laughing too.

"Hey! I can cook! I just choose not to and I'm sure I can figure out pancakes but I will admit....your pancakes are much better. Which is why input the spatula in there. So if you want to come over super early that morning before she wakes up I won't kick you out of the kitchen if you start the pancakes," Arizona said throwing out her very best smile.

"Deal," Callie said with a smile and the two women each grabbed a hand of their daughter and the three walked out of the hospital, together, for the first time as a family, in a very long time.

Arizona saw her phone buzz and glanced at it: Pajamas for Christmas.


	12. Chapter 12

Only one chapter left! Can you believe it? So glad you all have enjoyed this, it’s been fun and light and easy for the big holiday coming up. Hope you enjoy this chapter. I know the last one was a bit short, this one should make up for that though.

Santa's little helper 12/13

Pajamas for Christmas morning

Arizona had conjured up the will to invite Callie for Christmas morning. She was excited about this for so many reasons. They seemed to be headed in a direction that was leading them towards a reconciliation but for some reason they had reached a stalemate. It was like they were treading water and neither one could move, they were doing nice sweet things for each other, but it wasn't getting them anywhere. 

One of them needed to pull the trigger on this whole situation or they were going to just eventually give up. And Arizona couldn't speak for Callie for sure, but she knew she didn't want to give up on this. She had never wanted something as badly as she did to have another chance with the brunette. 

Inviting Callie for Christmas morning she felt like was a huge step in the right direction but it wasn't enough. She needed to somehow tell the woman what she wanted and what she wanted from the two of them. She wasn't one to typically shy away from these sorts of situation but still, there was a part of her that was nervous to tell Callie how she felt. 

She needed to not be though. She could tell by the way that Callie had been acting she was just as interested as Arizona was, but they were nervous to make anything happen. This could go south, and quick! 

She felt like asking the brunette for breakfast was a step in the right direction, but she wondered if she should ask for more. She had been considering asking her to spend the night on Christmas Eve, so they could get ready for Santa together for their little girl. And this pajama thing was just what she needed to lead into it. 

She had been trying all afternoon to buy pajamas for Callie but she hadn't found any she wanted to get the brunette. Take that back. She had found plenty she wanted to get her, but they would be highly inappropriate at this point in their relationship and not for the eyes of their small daughter. But oh the red one with the lace had caught her eye and she couldn't seem to stop looking at it and imagining her beautiful ex wife in it. 

She had to pull herself out of those thoughts and move on for this quest or she was going to be stuck here all afternoon. She needed to find something for Callie that said "would you like to spend the night with us, in a highly platonic way but if there happened to be any kissing and cuddling, that would be okay too."

She kept browsing from store to store trying to find something for the woman. Until. Finally. There they were. She had found the set she wanted to get Callie. It was cute and perfect for the woman and she should be comfortable to wear it in the house with her and Sofia.

Callie was at the same mall doing the same thing as the blonde. Desperately searching for pajamas for the blonde that would be appropriate to buy for her ex wife. She also found herself wandering in aisles where the pajamas would not have been suitable for either of them to wear at this point. And certainly never around their daughter. No, none of these would do at all. 

She had considered asking Arizona if they could have a Christmas dinner together after presents were opened. They had talked about spending the morning with their daughter but beyond that they hadn't talked about what would be acceptable. Was she supposed to just leave? What was Arizona expecting here?

She really just needed to talk to the blonde about her wishes and expectations in the holiday, she needed to just lay it all out on the line. And about more than just the holiday. She needed to tell Arizona what she had wanted in all this. It was the only way something would happen is if they started talking and told each other what it was they were expecting from each other.

Callie wanted another chance. A chance to be with Arizona again, to love her, to be part of her life, and to start over with her. They deserved that. The chance to start over and try to do this all right this time. If there was anyone that deserved a chance to make a go of things, it was the two of them. 

Arizona wrapped up the package and was getting ready to send it with an intern when April walked in.

"Hi Arizona," April said and sat down at the desk.

"How are you?" Arizona asked with an extra chipper tone in her voice.

"Good, I guess. I've been doing this gift exchange and I've been trying to send gifts to Jackson that say something about the two of us but all I keep getting in return from him are these boring gifts. Gifts that mean nothing, the pre put together gifts you get at Walgreens. I don't know what to do."

"All you can do is try April. And you've been doing that."

"Yeah, I know, but I was hoping for more, you know? How about you and Callie? How is that all going?"

"I think good, we seem to be talking more than we have in long time, I'd like to think we are headed in the right direction. We seem to be stuck at the moment though, but I did ask her to spend Christmas morning with us though."

"Ohhhh, that will be fun! How about a date? Have you thought about asking her on a date?"

"Not yet, I'd like to get through Christmas first and see what happens between us and then I thought maybe I'd ask for a date."

"I really hope everything works out for you Arizona. You guys deserve to be happy."

"Thanks, look I have to get someone to deliver this and then I have to get Sofia from daycare. Thanks for stopping by," Arizona told her and started to get up.

"Want me to deliver it for you? I could."

"Sure! Thanks," Arizona said and handed her the gift.

Callie was back at the hospital now and was trying to get then gift together for Arizona. She had finally found what she wanted and was happy about it, though all her questions were still pressing her. She had decided she was just going to come right out and ask the blonde if she could stay the day and they could cook a nice big dinner together. That was what she wanted and she really hoped Arizona would be up for it too.

"Hey Callie," she heard and saw April walking in her office.

"Hi April," Callie said with a bit of question in her voice. While she and Kepner were colleagues they definitely didn't hang out in each other's offices.

"I just brought this by, your secret Santa asked me to drop it," she said setting the package in her desk.

"Oh, thanks a lot April," Callie told her and looked at the package.

"She's nervous you know."

"What?" Callie asked looking up at the redhead in her office.

"Arizona. She's nervous. She only gets that way when she talks about you. She is a very confident woman, but when it comes to you...well she seems to lose all that confidence. She's a little nervous at the moment because she wonders where you are headed and what the two of you are doing."

"She's not the only one," Callie said with a huff and sat down.

"You should try to talk to her. Jut tell her, ask her, talk to her. Don't lose this chance. Because that's what the two of you have right now, is a chance, and I'd give anything to have the chance the two of you have right now. Instead I'm kind of chasing a dream still. But you two....don't waste this opportunity, it might be the last one you get with her." April told her and walked out of the room.

Kepner was right. This might be the last chance they got, and she needed to not waste it. She needed to talk to the blonde and just lay it all out on the line with her. Tomorrow was Christmas and more than anything she wanted to spend it with the two women. And the whole next day. 

Callie got up in a hurry, handed off her gift to an intern and went back into her office to open her gift. She slowly pulled back the paper and started laughing. 

It was fuzzy pajamas with all the bones of the body on them and named. As well as matching slippers. She loved it! It was the perfect gift for an orthopedic surgeon.

Arizona was getting Sofia from daycare when an intern found her. She took the gift and her daughter and went home for the night. She was exhausted and still had a lot of things to do before Christmas was to happen. 

She was just setting down all of her things on the counter when she noticed the package on the counter. She hadn't opened her gift yet. That was exactly what she needed. She was desperate for a little pick me up and this was it. She took the wrapping off and there was a mother and daughter matching set of pink butterfly fuzzy pajamas. 

You two are going to look so cute  
I almost won't be able to stand it  
In your matching pink pajama suits  
Thanks for letting me share it

Arizona pulled out the pajamas and looked at them. She was right, they were going to look flippin adorable in these tonight. She set them down and heard a knock at the door and turned to see who it was.

She saw her ex wife on the other side of the door smiling nervously. Arizona quickly opened it.

"Hurry! It's cold out there!" Arizona told her grabbing the brunette and pulling her into the house. "What are you doing here?"

"Can we talk? Where's Sofia?"

"We just got home and she went to her room to write her final list for Santa."

"God tell me there isn't anything new on that list. I can't go back to the mall."

"No, nothing new. Come in," Arizona said ushering her to the kitchen. "Want a glass of wine?"

"Yes please, I'm going to need that," Callie said and sat down at the bar in the kitchen. Arizona busied herself with wine and tried not to freak out. She could tell Callie was wanting to talk, and BIG talk, not chit chat stuff. What did she want? What was she going to say?

Arizona poured the two glasses and handed one to Callie and then she sat down next to her.

"I don't really know where to start," Callie said causing Arizona to take a drink of her wine. 

"Start at the beginning," Arizona smiled and tried to encourage her.

"I didn't want to do this gift exchange, I actually asked Richard to take me out of it....I just didn't feel like being part of it this year."

"Oookay," Arizona said slowly and took another drink from her wine. What was she trying to tell her? That she didn't want to do this?

"But then we got started and I began getting these gifts and I of course began to wonder who they were from," she smiled and Arizona smiled back at her as they shared the moment of knowing but not saying who their Santa was. "And they made me start thinking....thinking of things I hadn't thought of in a long time. Memories and glimpses of us. And what we had and where we were. Have you been doing this?"

"Of course Callie."

"What are we going to do?" Callie whispered to the other woman and looked down into her wine glass hoping for some answers to pop out at her.

"What do you want to do?"

"Don't ask me that. It isn't fair," Callie told her and stood up to walk over to the window and looked out. "I'm scared."

"Good." Arizona told her causing the brunette to turn and look at her.

"Why is that good?"

"It means you want to try but you're afraid. And that's good. If you weren't scared I wouldn't want to try with you again."

"You want to try again?" Callie asked her and looked at the blonde that was sitting in front of her. She seemed calm, but her eyes told Callie a different story. 

"You haven't figured that out by now?" Arizona laughed out and looked up at the brunette.

"Arizona," Callie said sitting next to her and taking the blondes hand in hers. "It's not failing that I'm afraid of. It's losing you again, because I can't do that. I can't lose you. It hurt so much last time and if I had to live through that again I don't know that I'd survive it."

"I know what you mean." Arizona told her and the two of them sat there for a minute thinking about what they were doing. "What if we started slow this time? We already know each other and everything about each other but what if this time....we made sure it counted?"

Callie looked up and smiled at the blonde that was smiling back at her. They were still holding hands and Callie pulled her a little closer towards her and let go of her hand to move it to her face. 

"You're so beautiful. The most beautiful woman I've ever laid my eyes on and I want nothing more to have another chance with you, you're kind and smart and wonderful.....but I'm so scared and I really don't know where to start. I don't know what to do. What do you want me to do?"

"I'm not going to tell you what to do here Callie. But I am going to tell you I'm old enough that I know what I want. I'm not going to play games or beat around the bush. I want you. There. I said it. What you do with that information is up to you."

Callie just sat there and looked at the woman in front of her.

"Did you like your pajamas?" Callie asked while Arizona lowered her eyes a bit curious why she was asking her that.

"Of course I did. How about you?"

"Yeah..." Callie whispered and looked down at her hands.

"Tomorrow is Christmas morning...I don't suppose you and your new pajamas want to spend the night with us? You can have the extra bedroom and this way you can make us our pancakes early." Arizona told her with a smile.

Callie looked up and smiled at the other woman. "There's no place I'd rather be than here with the two of you."

Arizona stood up and held out her hand for Callie to take. "Come on, we have a lot to get done tonight before we can sleep. Santa still has to come and we need to set out cookies with her and read books."

"Sounds perfect," Callie said stopping and looking at the blonde that was holding her hand and looking back at her. She slowly pulled her back towards her and let their bodies bump into each other. Callie was now standing just millimeters from Arizona and she didn't know what to do. Was it okay for her to kiss Arizona and before she could wonder any longer Arizona leaned up and kissed the woman in front of her. 

Callie stood next to Arizona, kissing her and slowly letting her hand hand work its way up her side and cupping the cheek of the other woman. She had forgotten just how soft Arizona was and how wonderful it was to kiss her. Finally she pulled back and looked down at the blonde and smiled at her.

"That was...."Callie started.

"Perfect," Arizona finished for her. "Come on, let's put our baby to bed."

The two women walked down the hall towards Sofia's room and entered together, for the first time in over two years. As a family. 

Christmas eve: The big Reveal and something for the Future.

Well…..what do you think? What are their future gifts for each other going to be? Any ideas? Or requests??


	13. Chapter 13

Thanks for all the fun….I have enjoyed telling this story So much and I’m glad you all stuck by me for it.  
Have an amazing Holiday, kiss your loved ones and friends! Have a great weekend!

Santa's Little Helper 13/13

Christmas reveal and something for the future

Arizona and Callie put Sofia to bed, together, for the first time in a very long time. They each gave her a kiss on her head, told her they loved her and walked out of the room, holding hands. Callie closed the door and leaned against it for a minute, pulling Arizona into her and holding her there in the hall. It felt so good, so natural to do.

Arizona felt Callie's strong arms wrapped around her shoulders and let herself lean into the woman and just let her hold her. She buried her head in Callie's neck and felt herself wrap her arms around Callie's waist. Nothing had felt as natural as this did in such a long time.

"What else do we have to do?" Callie whispered into the blonde hair, not wanting to let the woman go.

"We need to move the elf, fill her stocking, set out the rest of the gifts and eat the cookies," Arizona told her keeping her eyes closed and letting the moment continue.

"As much as I love this, maybe we should get all our stuff done and then we can change into our pajamas and watch a movie together."

"Okay," Arizona said and pulled away, looking up at the brunette. "Let's hurry," she smiled at Callie and watched as Callie leaned down to give her a peck on the lips and then part.

They rushed through all their tasks so they could hurry back to each other. Callie filled the stocking while Arizona made the cookies, milk and carrots for the reindeer, disappear. Next Arizona grabbed all the gifts while Callie moved the Elf to a new spot in the house.

Finally, changed and settled on the couch with wine, the two women settled back for a Christmas movie. 

"Oh! Love actually is on. I haven't had time to watch it this year," Arizona said leaning into Callie and feeling Callie lean back so they could both get really comfortable. 

"You should take your leg off, so you won't be uncomfortable later," Callie told the woman, hoping that they would fall asleep together cuddled on the couch rather than the separate cold beds as Arizona had suggested. She wanted to make sure the blonde was completely at ease in case her plan worked.

Arizona was glad Callie suggested the removal of the leg, it meant the two of them were thinking the same thing. Sleeping cuddled on the couch, together. It was exactly what she wanted.

Arizona finally settled in and sprawled out on the couch covering herself with the blanket and looking at the brunette at the end of the couch. 

"Lay with me," she said and Callie nearly fell over scrambling to climb in behind the blonde so she could hold her. She pulled in right behind the blonde and felt their bodies mesh together and Callie couldn't help herself when she let out a loud audible moan. "Ohhh god," she said and caused Arizona to snicker a little but also press back into the brunette just a touch harder.

"Yessss?" Arizona asked as the brunette buried her head in the blondes neck.

"I love you. So much," she heard and felt wet on her neck and turned slightly so she could see the face of the woman that had stole her heart yet again. "And this is just so perfect and you feel so perfect and I never want this moment to end. Tell me it won't end."

"We won't let it," Arizona said turning so she was facing the brunette and kissed her on the lips while they continued to hold each other. "I love you too."

They shared a lot of kisses and sweet words until finally they both feel asleep in each other's arms, holding on tight to each other not wanting their perfect moment to end. 

Callie woke up to someone tapping her on the face and looked up into the eyes of her daughter that was standing in front of her.

"It's Christmas? Santa came?" Sofia asked quietly and still sleepy. Callie looked at the window and noticed it was still dark which meant it was early. She glanced down at the blonde that was still sleeping soundly and tried to extract herself from the woman to attend to their daughter.

"Yeah it's Christmas and it looks like Santa came. Why don't you help me make breakfast for mama?" Callie asked taking her daughter on her hip and walking them to the kitchen. "Okay, you crack the eggs while I get the pancake mix and then I'll start the coffee and bacon. Mama loves her bacon," she said tweaking the little girls nose and handing her what she needed to get started.

It wasn't long before the blonde came into the kitchen rubbing her eyes and noticed her girls were busy flipping pancakes. Sofia was on a step stool and Callie was behind her helping to flip the pancakes. Arizona walked up behind the brunette and placed a hand on the lower part of her back so she didn't startle her, then leaned in and gave her a kiss on the back of her neck.

"Hi," she whispered into the ear of the woman and felt Callie lean back into her while she snaked her arm around her waist. 

"Hi mama! We made breakfast and coffee!" Sofia said all smiles while Arizona just continued to hold Callie and watch her baby flip the pancakes. Callie stroked Arizona's arms that were wrapped around her while the blonde just kept her lips pressed to the back of brunette's neck. 

"Good morning," Callie finally said and turned to look at her blonde in the pink pajamas she had picked out for her and noticed how adorable she looked. She leaned down and kissed the woman in front of her then pulled back to see the love in her eyes.

"We're gonna do it this time. Aren't we?" Arizona asked and Callie nodded at her.

"You bet your sweet ass we are," she said and gave her a smack on the butt, then a kiss and went to grab the plates.

The three ate breakfast quickly as the little girl was wide awake now and wanted to open the gifts. They all ushered into the living room and the women cuddled on the couch as they watched their daughter open all her presents and try to decide what she wanted to play with first.

"There's still two under here!" Sofia said and pulled two Manila envelopes out from under the tree, one had each of their names on it and Sofia handed the envelopes to their respectful owner.

These were their final gifts from the Santa exchange. They were supposed to get each other something for the future.

"You go first," Callie told Arizona who greedily ripped open her envelope and pulled out a piece of paper and look at it, then she let out a little gasp and looked at the brunette.

"You always loved it. You picked it out, it was what you wanted so badly, and I never had it in me to sell it. So I paid it off and gave you your share and just kept it. I hate you renting this little place and I'd rather you and Sofia were in our old home. So it's the deed to the house. Move back in when you want," Callie said and Arizona quickly wrapped her arms around the brunette and buried her head in her neck while she held the woman. 

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! I love it!" Arizona told her and then motioned for Callie to open her gift.

Callie opened the envelope and pulled out a piece of paper only to flip it over in her hands.

"Arizona....."

"The clinic called and wanted to know what we wanted to do with our eggs and sperm we were storing there, it was inventory time for them and ours was due.....So I paid for them to be held for anther five years. This way.....if we should ever want to try again, we are all ready to go," Arizona said and Callie grabbed her and pulled her close to her while she cried 

"My god I love you Arizona Robbins," Callie said as hey held each other on the couch.

"And I love you callie Torres. Forever."


	14. Chapter 14

Merry Christmas….this is my gift to all of you. What good is a story without an epilogue so we know how they are doing.   
Love to all of you, you are amazing and I appreciate every single one of you that clicks on my stories and reads them. So thanks for that.

Epilogue Santa's Little Helper

One year later.......

"Callie what are you doing? We need to get the gifts under the tree and the stocking hung and the elf moved and you've been under that tree for ten minutes. Let's go!" Arizona yelled at her girlfriend. She had been rooting around under the tree, all the way in the back and Arizona really needed her help.

"I can't find a package I put under here and I need to find it," Callie yelled then pulled out from under the tree to look up at the blonde that was very clearly irritated at her. "If you helped me, this would go a lot faster," Callie said and stuck her head back under the tree, moving the gifts yet again.

"Oh for the love of..." Arizona said dropped down to the floor and started moving gifts. She needed to get the rest of the gifts from their room and under the tree, as well as the other dozen things she needed to do but instead this is how she found herself. "What am I looking for anyway?"

"Your final secret Santa gift, I put it under here two days ago and now I can't find it."

"Callie! I don't need that now! We have things to do, I'm sure it will turn up eventually, can we please go finish getting ready for Christmas morning?"

Callie pulled her head out from under the tree and looked at her girlfriend. They had pulled each other again this year, which left them both wondering how that kept happening. The gifts had been more subtle this year, a little more intimate this go around (Christmas pajamas for starters, they bought two sets, one Sofia could see and one just for their viewing) but they found it was just as much fun this year.

"Please, it's really important I find this gift," Callie said looking at her wife.

"Fine," Arizona said diving back under the tree and rifling through the packages. They were both under the tree now and Callie looked over at her girlfriend and saw that the lights were illuminating her beautifully. This was it.

"Hey," Callie said quietly and Arizona looked over at her and saw Callie smiling at her.

"You are such a dork, come on! Let's find this gift so we can get our stuff done."

"I already found it," Callie told her and smiled. "I just wanted to get you under here."

"Callie! We have so much to do and I'd love the chance to hang out with you later when we get it all done but..."

"Will you just calm down? Please. Look at me," Callie said quietly and looked at her girlfriend and handed her the gift she had been looking for.

"Fine," Arizona said and started to crawl out from under the tree but Callie pulled her back in.

"Stay," she said and Arizona reluctantly crawled back under the tree so they were both under it.

"I love you, so much and Christmas last year is what brought us back together, let us discover each other again, see each other for who we really are. So I wanted your big gift this year to be what really pulled us back together, permanently," Callie said as Arizona unwrapped her gift and once it was open just sat and stared at it. "Arizona Robbins will you do me the honor of being my wife....again?"

Arizona looked at the ring that was staring up at it. It was beautiful and the Christmas tree lights were playing off of it and making an extra twinkle under the tree.

"Yes," Arizona whispered and scooted over towards Callie to give her a kiss. "Yes, of course I'll be your wife....again."

Callie kissed her back and felt her wife digging under the tree and hand her a package

"Since we are doing this, here you go," Arizona said nervously and handed the package to Callie to open. It was her final gift in the exchange.

Callie opened it up and saw a small white stick with a red plus sign on it.

"But....we only tried once," she said quietly and looked at her girlfriend.

"Guess that's all it took, I awesome like that," Arizona whispered and watched as Callie's eyes lit up and she reached over to pull Arizona into a hug.

"Oh god I love you Arizona Robbins!" She screamed and kissed her fiancée on the lips while smiling and feeling tears pouring down her face. "I love you so much."

"I love you too Callie Torres. Forever."


End file.
